A Demon's Kiss
by NinjaButterfly
Summary: It has been five years since Sasuke had last seen Naruto, right after Naruto had given him one last promise to allow their bond to finally fade away after many failed attempts to bring him home. And that was that...until Sasuke decides it's time to come home, if only for his execution. What will happen when they meet face-to-face once more? *Heed warnings inside*
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: For starters, I would like to say that I, unfortunately, do not own Naruto (how awesome would that be, though?)

Warnings: Rated M for language, violence, and a possible lemon in upcoming chapter(s). Also contains yaoi - don't like, don't read. Please do not reply with hate messages on the subject. I mean, it's not like I'm taping your eyelids open and forcing you to read it :P

The first chapter to this story pretty much follows the first encounter Sasuke and Naruto had after the two year time skip and is mostly there to give a better feel of what is going through Sasuke's head at the time. I'm also not going to ask for feedback because I don't want to burden the readers with the task; as long as you enjoy the story, I could really care less. Though if you do give feedback, whether it be to tell how awesome my story is (not likely) or constructive criticism, I shall thank you in advance!

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**Chapter One**

It took a moment for my eyes to adjust to the darkness of the long corridor as I stepped out of the bright sunlight; two candles aligned either side of the wall every twenty feet. Even though it was enough light to see everything in the room, it was still a bit dark for my liking. It only made the endless hallways of Orochimaru's hideout even more depressing and disorienting, especially while walking them alone. Sometimes I could barely shake the feeling that the walls were closing in on me.

After running and losing count of how many hallways and dead ends I had come across, I came to one door in particular that spiked my attention the most. My breath hitched as I slowly approached the door and carefully opened it, revealing a small, darkened room that was only lit by one candle. The room was quite barren aside from a small table in one corner and a bed in the other that had someone lying on it. I couldn't see their face because they had their back towards me, but he didn't have to see it to know who it was- the person that had brought him here in the first place. Cautiously walking up to them, I carefully pulled off the barrier of blankets to unveil the blond who haunted my dreams every night.

My veins iced over and a prickling chill made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end as I stared down at him. The soft candlelight cast dancing shadows on his peaceful form as I stood there, mesmerized at the sight…why was this Naruto? Why was the shadow of my past lying here before me…and why was he here in the first place?

My heart caught in my throat as he began to stir and slowly sat up with his back towards me. For a long while, we both remained frozen in place. The room was so silent you could hear the soft flickering of the candle's flame that almost seemed to echo in the room.

"So…you found me."

I felt confused of what I should say considering I didn't quite understand what was going on, but words flowed out of my mouth as if they had been rehearsed dozens of times before. "I shouldn't have had to find you," I found myself saying. I watched as Naruto slowly stood up and turned towards me to finally reveal his face which didn't seem to have aged since the last time I saw him two years prior.

The candlelight kept flickering across half his features to reveal a smirk, the other half shrouded in shadow. "The same could have been said about you, Sasuke."

I swallowed the lump in my throat as I slowly approached him, stopping a foot from him. "You should come back. Everyone wants you to come home. I want you to come home…I need you. Not only as a friend, but as a brother."

He chuckled and stared me in the eye, a dangerous glint hidden within the depths of his cerulean blue orbs. It was like getting lost at sea during a massive storm-deadly and merciless. I could practically feel himself drowning in them. "I am home."

My eyes widened as I felt a searing pain suddenly cut through my abdomen and continued staring at Naruto, blue tendrils flickering between them. Then I woke up.

I slowly opened my eyes and stared at the wall in front of me, feeling more calm than I should. Shadows from the flickering candle continued to dance in sporadic patterns as a chilling breeze swept through the room from the door that was slightly ajar. For a long time I had, had these dreams quite often and was used to having them, but that didn't mean I was able block out the unsettling memories of my former life back in Konoha that they always brought on. Long ago I had learned I couldn't simply block them out, so I had no choice but to replay a life I no longer had.

I closed my eyes once more and laid there in silence for a while, waiting for the darkness to take me into its shadows once more. All I seemed to have now were the shadows to accompany me, both in reality and unconsciousness. Despite which world I was in, I always had the memories haunting me, making sure they kept themselves close, but I didn't mind having them. At least they provided me with the realization that I was happy once upon a time. My past was the only thing that kept me going day by day and gave me reasons to daydream that maybe one day I could return to that state of happiness I used to have. It probably wouldn't ever be more than that, though.

As I laid there waiting to go back to sleep, I couldn't help but think back to the dream that I had. It was different from the others I usually have and it took me a moment to recollect the details. What if the roles _were _switched with Naruto and I…was that really how it would have been? Did Naruto feel that sense of helplessness and desire to try helping someone who didn't want to be saved, like I had felt?

The darkness finally began to consume me the more I thought about it, but was drawn back to reality when the door to my room slowly opened, causing a stronger breeze than the one before to sweep over him. I didn't bother to turn to see the intruder and waited for something to happen.

"Who's there?" I asked calmly as I felt snakes slithering onto my back, but I held my ground. At first I thought it was Orochimaru coming to get him for training, but two things made me reconsider. One, Orochimaru never came to get him on his own and always got his lackey [Kabuto] to summon him and if it was him, he never would have suppressed his chakra; he was too bold.

"So…you do know I'm here," a voice said that he didn't recognize. "Well regardless, I still have the advantage."

"What do you want?"

I heard the door creak open and his soft footfalls as he came in. "Well, if you mean Lord Danzou, his objective is to get rid of you. But me, I have come here to take you back to the Leaf." He paused a moment before continuing. "When I first started out, my only intentions were to locate you and take you down. You share something with him…a bond of friendship that Naruto is desperately holding onto…and I'm here to protect it!"

Another silence ensued as I let that sink in. This stranger had come in here to tell me this? A person I could care less about was telling me about the bond I used to share with Naruto. "…a bond? Is that really your excuse for waking me up?"

As I was about to attack, the snakes wrapped around me in a vice grip, but it was no use. I created a huge explosion that destroyed a large portion of the hideout that created a huge crater in the ground. I did not know who this guy was other than he was apparently on a mission with Naruto to capture me but where was Naruto, who should have been saying all of this? This guy may have been my replacement on the team, but he definitely must have been playing the entire squad with his ulterior motives because he knew they never would have went along with a plan to dispose of him; they were too naïve to know when to give up on a lost cause. I didn't care why they were doing this, but they were not going to take me back…at least not today. Maybe when I have my revenge, I'll have a place in Naruto's- even Sakura's- heart for me when I return…if I do return.

I quickly jumped to the top of the canyon I had created and looked down into the crater, staring at the guy as he looked back up at me. For a while I stood there and awaited for the arrival of Naruto who was sure to come any minute now from hearing the explosion.

It had been over two years since I had last saw him and I didn't know what to expect. We used to get stronger together before I left, so would he be weaker then I was? Has he grown as I have? Stronger? Or was he still the same?

Before I could say or do anything more, Sakura came running out of one of the hallways, grabbed Sai's shirt collar tightly and began to yell at him angrily. Even two years later, it appeared Sakura hadn't changed at all which I didn't know was a good thing or not.

"Sakura…" I said in a casual voice, a little impatient for her to notice me. Like I expected, she tensed and quickly looked up at me, shock embedded in her features. As Sakura and I stared at one another for a few long moments, Naruto came hurtling out of another hallway and wasted no time looking right at me.

When our eyes met, old memories began to flood my thoughts once more, of all the things that had ever happened between us…the good and the bad, the ups and the downs, the most intense of moments and the laid back ones where Naruto always annoyed him to no end, but he secretly longed to steal a moment like that with him again. Sai was right, Naruto and I had a bond…but I couldn't say for sure if it was still there. The longer I stared down at him the more I realized that he wasn't the little boy I used to know and it caught me slightly by surprise. He looked more mature and serious now and had actually grown quite a bit; he was almost as tall as me now and definitely more lean, to my dismay. We weren't little boys anymore playing around with little games. We both had a cause we were fighting for that brought us here today.

"Well, Naruto…" I said, breaking the silence. "You came too. I assume Kakashi is here?"

"Unfortunately Kakashi couldn't make it, so I'm here in his place," another guy said who slowly walked over to the others. "Team Kakashi has come to escort you back to the Leaf village."

"Team Kakashi…" I slowly looked over all their faces and studied them carefully. It didn't matter if I wanted to go back or not, I couldn't. I hated to sound so selfish, but my first priority was to kill Itachi and I couldn't possibly do that if I showed any old connections with them or I might have actually gave in.

I watched as Sai took out his tanto and pointed it towards me, not taking his eye from my own.

"I knew it!" Sakura yelled, now all eyes on Sai. "Sai, don't!" I barely comprehended her words.

"So… this is my replacement?" I asked, keeping a close eye on everyone, especially the captain. I didn't know why type of power he possessed, so I couldn't rule him out as a threat even from this distance. "I thought the team already had a weakling. He keeps saying something about protecting the bond between Naruto and me."

Sakura looked at Sai. "Sai, I thought your mission was to try assas-"

"It's true," Sai cut her off, not even sparing her a glance. "I was on a classified mission to find and eliminate Sasuke, but I'm through following orders. For now on, I think for myself. Naruto…I think you can help me remember. Bring back those old memories that I thought were lost-things that were once important to me." So Sai seemed to be getting pretty acquainted with Naruto, I see. "I don't know much about you, Sasuke, but I know Sakura and Naruto would be willing to sacrifice just about everything for you. They don't want to lose their connection with you. They would give anything to protect those bonds! I still may not be able to understand it that clearly, but you Sasuke, you must be able to understand it!"

I closed my eyes for a long time, trying to control my rising anger. I really didn't like this guy. "You are right. I did understand…and that's why I severed them!" When I opened my eyes, I saw the shocked expressions of everyone staring at me, but the words had to be said. To show any old affection towards them would just fuel their obsession to bring me back and I couldn't afford that right now. The only way I knew how was to make it clear that I severed every thread that bound us together. It couldn't be helped and even though I hated myself for having to say it and just in order for me to achieve my goal, then so be it.

Another silence ensued, which lasted for a long time. My words had stung them as much as it did myself to say them, but it could not be helped. There was no way I could leave and go back to the village, not when I have already come this far. Even if I had chosen to, there wasn't a sure fate for any of us if we had to fight Orochimaru and Kabuto. And if we happened to get pass them, what future could I say I would have upon my arrival in the village? Comfortable accommodations in a prison cell as I awaited my appointment with the gallows?

I quickly jumped down from my perch and embraced Naruto with one arm, my other hand on my hip. I stood frozen, thinking of my next words carefully.

"While you crave for the brotherhood you think we still share, I crave something you cannot possibly understand. Why do you keep dreaming of something you cannot have?"

"Because I remember what we used to share. You're the first person who I could call a friend and I can't let that friendship waste away." His voice was soft, but confident.

"Can you not see our friendship was severed when I walked away? I've moved on, so you should too." I unsheathed my sword and held it out before bringing it down, trying to stab Naruto with it, but it was stopped by Sai; I knew my attack would have been stopped by someone. Even if no one had stopped it, I knew the Nine-Tailed Fox would help heal Naruto's wound as it had countless times before. Even though I had no intentions of truly killing Naruto, I had to lead everyone to believe my intent was to kill. After Sai stopped the attack, I jumped back a few yards and took in Naruto's expression that was glazed over with shock, hurt, and betrayal. He should have known; this game had been played many times before. And if he continued trying to win, it was going to have the same ending aside from the growing pain of his failure.

Naruto closed his eyes and looked at the ground, smiling sadly. "No matter how hard I try, it can never be enough, can it?" he asked softly and looked up at me, still smiling. "I may not have the hatred to destroy the things that have destroyed me, but how could I when that person is you, Sasuke?" Those words stung more than they should, but I kept a stoic expression as he continued. "I used to think every day that just maybe I would convince you to finally come home, but I guess it's just another promise I cannot keep. But the thing is, I don't know what disappoints me more…the fact that I can't save you, or the fact that I can't save myself."

I would have questioned what exactly he meant by that, but I didn't want to show that I cared in the slightest. This was probably as big a burden to carry on my shoulders as it was breaking Naruto's heart and spirit. Naruto Uzumaki should never wear a frown on his face, but there was right now and I had a feeling he had worn one a lot over the years because of me.

"You can't save everyone, Naruto," I found myself saying before I could stop myself. I clenched my teeth together to prevent from saying more.

Naruto continued giving the most devastating smile I had ever seen as he slowly backed away. "I know."

At this point I didn't know what to say. To continue speaking would show that I did care, even though the expression I was being given killed me to look at. Naruto was the only person I ever considered a friend and he was one of the best you could ever find. He went through so much pain and sacrifice for me and this is the payment I gave him in return.

"I will make one more promise to you, Sasuke," he said softly, the smile now disappearing. "I promise you I will allow our bond to fade away. That you can believe."

My heart skipped a beat at that, not having expected that at all. I barely kept my expression emotionless and slowly sheathed my sword just to have something to do.

"Goodbye…Naruto." With those last words, there was little doubt in my mind that would be the last time I saw Naruto, and with that…I disappeared.

* * *

_Naruto_

After we had gotten home from the mission, we walked to Lady Tsunade's office to give our mission report. During the entire trip back, I did not speak but two words that were directed towards Sakura, "I'm sorry." She didn't need an explanation to understand what I had meant and the entire trip she tried reassuring me that we _would_ get Sasuke back, but I knew that wouldn't happen. After being absolutely silent for four hours, she started to lose faith in that as well and knew that I was serious about what I had said. I had already broken one promise to Sasuke and Sakura and I was definitely going to make sure this one stayed intact.

I didn't even realize we were already in Tsunade's office until a question was directed at me, which shocked me out of my thoughts. "I'm sorry…what?" I muttered, looking at Tsunade.

She stared at me for a moment with sympathy but knew she was probably seething with annoyance on the inside. "Before your next mission, you will train with Kakashi-sensei before going back to look for him."

"I'm not going back," I said quickly and stared her in the eye so she knew I was serious.

"What did you say?" she asked, surprise written all over her face.

"I am not going to pursue Sasuke any longer. I made a promise and this time I'm going to keep it. It's time to move on and quit wasting our time."

"You made a promise to stay away from Sasuke?" she asked, slightly angry. "Do you know how many strings I had to pull in order for you to go search for him and you made a promise to not pursue him any further? We have had this mission for this long and you're telling me you're just going to quit?"

"Then maybe it's time we consider it a mission failure."

Tsunade stared at me with shock and anger. We had an intense staring contest until she finally sat back down. "Everyone, leave. I would like to speak with Yamato."

Everyone bowed before immediately leaving the room, I actually being the first to leave. The only thing I wanted right then was to get away from all the interrogation and just go home; I have never felt so exhausted in my life. We walked out of the tower together and stopped outside the building. I quickly looked across the horizon for I knew Sakura and Sai were both staring at me. After no one spoke to one another after five minutes, I finally looked at Sakura.

"I'm going home."

"Naruto, I think you should get checked out at the infirmary first," Sakura said, stepping in front of me.

"I'm fine, Sakura," I said, trying to walk past her but she stepped in front of me again. I wanted to sigh, but refrained from doing so and tried remaining patient with her and was proving to be quite difficult.

"I insist. You still seem a little weak from the Nine Tails."

"Sakura, I am more fine than you could ever know," I said a little tensely, giving her a hard stare before pushing past her, walking home. The short temper couldn't be helped, but I was sure I'd feel guilty treating her that way later.

When I was out of their line of sight, I made a rush for home, not stopping once. Despite how much my lungs burned from running so hard, I didn't dare stop until I was locked away inside the comfort of my apartment. As I entered the door, I immediately locked it and put my back to it before closing my eyes, trying to catch my breath. Only now could I truly comprehend what had happened with Sasuke since I was now alone. It made me sick to my stomach. For the rest of my life, I now had to wait for Sasuke to come back on his own and that was the only thing I had to go on, which barely gave me any hope at all. Sasuke had already been gone for three years now and he seemed so sincere on never coming back, but for my sake I could only hope.

"Sasuke…" I collapsed on my hands and knees and tried to calm my breathing, but the constriction I felt in my chest made it that much more difficult.

"_Sasuke…you have to come home…"_

I slowly opened my eyes and looked around my home, noticing how incredibly lonely it felt and how much darker it seemed. A sigh escaped my lips as I slowly stood and trudged into the kitchen to grab a glass of water. As I slowly drank it, I thought of everyone else around me just to try cheering myself up: Sakura, Kiba, Shikamaru, Hinata, Gaara, and all the others…hell, even Sai was growing on me even though he pissed me off to no end at times. So what if I didn't have Sasuke? I still had all my other good friends around me.

"_But it's still not the same without you…"_

I slammed the glass down on the counter a little harder than needed before slowly walking into the bathroom to take a shower. After stripping and hopping in it, I stood with my forehead pressed against the cold tile, letting the hot water soothe my aching muscles and wash all the grime from the long, weary mission. Grabbing the soap, I began to wash and scrubbed until my skin turned red from the amount of pressure used. I quickly finished and put on nothing more than a pair of flannel pants before walking into the bedroom and flopped on the bed.

As I lay there, waiting for darkness to eventually take over, I looked over to my night stand and stared at the picture of Sakura, Kakashi, Sasuke and myself that we had taken one day after our first day of navigation training. We all had spent more time arguing which way to go rather than accomplishing anything; we hadn't even gotten to our first checkpoint before darkness fell and had lost our way back to the village. We wandered aimlessly in the dark for hours, hoping Kakashi-sensei would come find us, but he thought it would be funny to leave us to find our own way back. We eventually called it quits and camped in the forest that night. The next morning, Kakashi found us huddled together to keep warm (it was too dark to gather firewood). Tired and cold, we stumbled after Kakashi back to Konoha. Once we got there and were about to part ways, I couldn't help, but start laughing at the misfortune of the day. When asked what was so funny, I told them and everyone, but Sasuke laughed since he, of course, had to say a teme-worthy comment. I couldn't remember what he had said, but we got into a small argument before someone with a camera passed by at that moment and offered to take a picture of us and Kakashi thought it was a good idea. We all received a copy of it before saying our farewells and went to our homes for a well deserved night of rest.

A soft smile grazed my lips at the memory, recalling it as if it happened yesterday. I slowly reached over and ran my hand across the picture gently before closing my eyes, waiting for sleep to take me.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

_Five Years Later…_

_Sasuke_

I could see for miles in every direction from my perch atop a high-hanging tree branch and was surrounded by an abyss of snow. It was the first major snow of the year and it had been falling steadily for a week now with no end in sight. In the distance about a mile away, I could barely make out the pale colors of the buildings in the village that was almost invisible through the snow. For hours I had been sitting here looking down at the village I used to call home and down there somewhere was the one person I longed to see with all my being and I didn't even know if he would want to see me again.

Naruto had kept his promise throughout the years and it worried me to no end. I didn't know if he had truly given up on me and it scared me to think about it even though that was really the only thing I had to think about anymore. One of the worse mistakes I made in my life was leaving Konoha to begin with but the biggest one of all pushing Naruto away.

Four years ago, I had gotten the revenge I always vowed to take. During the fight, it was the best feeling in the world to know I was only moments away from completing my quest, but as I saw the light leaving Itachi's eyes and when he pressed his finger to my forehead…I only wanted to take it all back. But it was too late. And now I was truly alone in the world. It wasn't as bad not having Naruto while I was trying to find my brother because Itachi distracted me from thinking about it too much but once I had killed him, I had nothing to occupy my time from thinking of him. Someone can only go so long being alone in the world. So that's what had brought me here today. I may die before I even reach the gates but death was better than living in this shell.

Death I wasn't afraid of, but possible resentment from the only person I cared about was devastating. After Naruto had given up on me, he went on to become everything he always dreamed of being. In the end we both got what we wanted, but Naruto could actually be happy for what he had achieved while I now had nothing left. He was indeed Hokage now and I was proud of him to say the least. He was everything I couldn't be and I admired him for it. Even if he did resent me, it would be for the better; a Hokage didn't need to show any emotional ties with a highly wanted and dangerous criminal.

I closed my eyes and pulled my knees closer to my chest to better warm myself a little before attempting to walk through the gates of Konoha. After five minutes had passed, I took a deep breath and plunged into the plush forest floor below and slowly started to trek towards home.

It was exhausting walking through the deep snow without any snow shoes and took twice as long than it should have but I was actually thankful for the delay. If my mind hadn't been so preoccupied of thinking what I was about to do, I would have thought to grab some in the last village before breaking the snow line. No ninja had spotted me yet but I knew they would swarm me in a few moments if not kill me on sight as each step brought me closer to the gates until they begun to loom overhead. Almost on cue, a large squad of Anbu had me surrounded and a few even dared to throw kunai at me which I deflected easily. I quickly turned my palms towards the sky to show I was unarmed, but it didn't really mean anything to them. If it was my intention to kill, they would already be dead.

"If you attack again I will be forced to defend myself," I said with a hard tone while looking the leader in the eye. "I've come to turn myself in." I heard a few snorts of disbelief and gasps around me, but at least no one attempted to attack again.

"An Uchiha that actually knows when to quit," the leader said, watching my every movement. He motioned towards two Anbu members who immediately flanked his side. "Go alert the Hokage immediately of the return of Uchiha, Sasuke. Do it now." The two bowed quickly in compliance and disappeared in a cloud of smoke. "Sasuke Uchiha, you are under arrest for the treason you have committed against your own people." He made another motion with his hand. I knew what was about to happen and I could have easily dodged the attack, but in order for me to be captured instead of being killed, I allowed myself to be knocked unconscious.

* * *

_Naruto_

I stared out the window of my office at my own face carved into the side of the Hokage monument absentmindedly. It brought a small smile to my face every time I saw it, because I could never believe I had become Hokage and overcame all the odds pitted against me. But here I was, standing in my own office while taking a break from paperwork…so much paperwork… It was just a minor complication, though that didn't bother me as much as it usually would have. I had made it this far and I wasn't going to slack off because it got a little boring at times. For the most part I was quite content on where life had brought me. If there was one thing I could have changed, though, was to bring Sasuke back home but that wasn't going to happen.

Out of every vow and every promise I had made to everyone, I failed to carry out only one of those…to bring Sasuke home, and I always felt the guilt of letting everyone down who depended on me to carry out my promise. A sigh escaped my lips before I turned around and looked at the picture of the old Team Seven sitting on my desk alongside one of the new team with Sai. I easily ran a finger across the photo again but was brought out of my thoughts when two Anbu suddenly appeared in my office unannounced.

"Hokage-sama…" they bowed quickly. "We have extremely urgent news to tell you. Sasuke Uchiha has been taken into custody. He gave himself up and was captured in front of the village's gates."

I stood rooted to the spot and stared straight into the messenger's eyes blankly, not quite believing what I was hearing. "Are… are you serious?" To say I was shocked was an understatement.

"Yes, Hokage-sama," the other said. "What are your orders?"

It took me a long while to process what they had said before speaking again. "Lock him in a cell, keep him restrained and double the guards. Do not allow anyone in to see him or speak with him. I want to speak with him first."

Their postures tensed. "Sir, I don't think that is very wise."

"Did I ask for your opinion?" I snapped. I hated being so demanding but sometimes the position called for a firm hand. "Now do as I say." They quickly bowed and disappeared to relay the message.

I was still in shock, but I was beginning to regain my composure. After informing my assistant I was leaving for the day, I darted out the door and slammed it shut with more force than I meant to. I practically ran all the way to the hospital to tell Sakura the news I was just given, knowing she'd probably give me a black eye for not telling her the moment he found out. She just might do that anyways because she'd probably think I was trying to fool her; I wasn't even sure if I was being tested myself.

At this moment I didn't really know what to feel. I still wasn't completely over the initial shock and couldn't think properly, but I had to collect myself before I went to see him. After our last encounter, I had been broken and lost a piece of myself that stayed back their with him. It pained me every day to think about it, and I thought becoming Hokage would have made the pain easier to handle, but only intensified it. Out of all the dreams I had accomplished, I failed the most important one.

As I walked through the hallways, I barely heard everyone's surprised voices regarding me as they saw me walking briskly through the hallways, looking for Sakura. After about five minutes of searching, I saw her inside the medicine storage room and quickly ran to her side. She was almost as surprised to see me as everyone else was, but her surprise quickly turned into concern.

"Naruto…what's going on?" she asked worriedly, staring me in the eye. "You look like you saw a ghost."

I looked around to make sure no one else was in the room and shut the door before turning back towards her. "Sasuke was captured."

I watched as her eyes widened from shock, then narrowing with a hint of anger. "Don't lie about something like that, Naruto."

I stared her sternly in the eye and if it hadn't been for my shock, I would have probably grinned. "Our Anbu just captured him. I'm about to go and talk to him."

Her eyes widened slightly. "Naruto… What if it's a trap? You know Sasuke…you can't take the risk…"

"Sakura, I'll be fine." I smiled at her softly and put my hand on her shoulder to reassure her. "Don't worry about me."

Before she could protest, I quickly dashed out the door as quickly as I came and jumped from rooftop to rooftop to get to the prison before too many people saw me walking the streets alone and get panicked. So far, no one really seemed to notice. I knew a lot of people must have been alarmed when they noticed I had disappeared from my office, but I was pretty sure the message had been quickly passed along throughout the staff for the Hokage.

Upon my arrival, I was immediately greeted by Sai and Kiba, who both wore the same shocked faces as Sakura had. Over the years, Sai had began to develop his emotions again, which took a lot of time and a lot of misunderstandings, which caused him to get hit a lot; I actually felt sorry for the guy.

"Is it true?" Kiba asked, trying his best to keep a grin off his face.

"That's what I have been informed. I'm going inside now to confirm it," I said, about to walk through the doors, but was stopped by Sai.

"You're seriously not going to go talk to him, are you Naruto?" Sai asked, giving me a hard stare.

"I'm going to talk to him," I said again, staring him in the eye. I tried walking pass him again but he grabbed me by the shoulder with a firm hold.

"Naruto…don't let your emotions cloud your better judgment."

I pushed his hand off my shoulder and pushed him to the side. "Sai… I'm the Hokage. I know what I'm doing." I hoped that logic remained true. As I walked inside, I heard a faint "I hope so" before the door shut behind me.

It took about a total of thirty minutes for them to allow me to finally go inside with Sasuke, after making a lot of arrangements and to triple check that there was no way Sasuke could get out and harm me without anyone stopping him first. Inside, there were six guards, two including Shikamaru Nara and Neji Hyuga. If Sasuke happened to escape, we had Neji, who could easily help track him down and Shikamaru, who could quickly devise a plan to go after him. After sending them on a mission together one time with a few other elite ninja, I realized that they made a really good team together.

"Naruto, if he tries to do anything funny or is doing anything that would raise suspicions, do not hesitate to tell one of the guards and back away," Shikamaru warned sternly.

"I know, Shikamaru," I said lowly, looking at him.

"I'm sorry. It's just protocol. We've never had a Hokage visit a highly wanted criminal before, so we're taking every precaution necessary." He frowned.

I nodded and patted Shikamaru on the shoulder once before walking pass him.

"Oh and Naruto." I stopped and looked back at him. He stayed quiet for a moment. "Just be prepared for what you might see."

I stared at him for another moment and contemplated on asking why, but I just nodded and slowly started walking down a large, narrow hallway, accompanied by Shikamaru and Neji, one behind me and one in front. When we finally came to the end of the hallway where the most dangerous of criminals were held, I took a deep breath before slowly walking into the room…and I froze.

Directly in front of me sat Sasuke. He was securely locked in a chair, along with chakra chains wrapped around his wrists, ankles, and midsection, bolting him to the wall. It took me a while to get over the restraints, but I finally noticed that his eyes had been blindfolded as well. Inside, there were the other four guards with their weapons out and prepared for anything.

It took me a while to remember how to breathe, shocked at how they had restrained him so. Was this all for the protection of me, or was this what they would have him in the entire time? I didn't know which was worse. If it was just for his safety, he would feel even more worse.

I slowly walked into the large cell and stopped about three feet from Sasuke, staring at him. Here he was, right in front of me, and I didn't know how to react to it. All these years, I had almost finally accepted that he was gone for good, yet here he was, sitting in front of me, chained to the wall. It made me sick thinking about it. All kinds of mixed emotions kept sweeping through my mind at this moment: disgust, happiness, shock, sadness, I didn't know which I should feel more.

"I want everyone to leave," I said lowly, my voice sounding hoarse. I couldn't see it, but I almost felt their eyes widen by my request.

"Sir, I don't think-"

"I think I just ordered everyone to _get out._ I know what I am doing," I said angrily, glaring at the guy who had spoken up. I sighed and looked at the ground, trying to calm myself. "I will be extremely cautious around the Uchiha. Now if you don't have trust in your Hokage, then what do you have?" I knew it was a conceited thing to say, but I had absolutely no idea what I should have said about the situation.

"_You need to get a hold of yourself. You have to be strong…authoritative."_

"If Sasuke Uchiha tries to do anything to spike any worry, I will announce it," I promised, looking back at the guard that I had yelled at.

Very hesitantly, everyone filed out of the cell one by one. After I heard the door to the cell close and lock, I slowly looked up at Sasuke and stared at him. For a moment, I contemplated on taking his blindfold off, but dismissed the idea for a while to see how Sasuke would react to all of this. I stared at him for a while, waiting for him to say something- one of his witty comments, _anything_- but he never did. As I watched him, he just sat there with his head lowered slightly, motionless. For a moment, I thought he might have been asleep.

"Sasuke…" I waited for a response for a moment, but one never came, so I continued. "I actually don't know what to say. Maybe I was dreaming, but I remember someone saying five years ago that they were never coming back." I waited about five minutes for him to say something, but he never did and I started to worry slightly. I hesitated a moment, before walking over to him and ripped off the blindfold to check on him. Two onyx eyes slowly looked up and met mine.

As we stared at one another, I felt my breathing hitch. Now that I could actually see his face, it left me breathless. He looked the same as the last time I had saw him with the only exception of longer hair that hung to his shoulders now and a beard that looked a couple of weeks old. His eyes looked different as well. The eyes that almost always held snide or over-confidence in them now looked tired and hollow.

As we continued staring at one another, I suddenly felt a surge of anger rush over me and I back-handed him across the face, which he had no choice but to take. "Why did you come back?!" I yelled angrily at him and glared. He continued staring at me, the slap not phasing him in the slightest and stared at me emotionless. The only thing that gave away he had any feelings at all was the small spark of emotion his eyes held for a moment after I had hit him, but I couldn't decipher what it meant.

"Does it really matter what I have to say?" he asked in monotony.

I was about to slap him again, but his words slowly sank in and stopped me. My spike of anger slowly subsided and was replaced by annoyance.

"Depending on what you have to say, it could be used for or against you when we deliver your punishment. It could spare your life by some chance when the decision is made," I said through clenched teeth, crossing my arms.

Sasuke remained silent for a moment, staring me in the eye still. "Would you?"

My eyebrows furrowed slightly in confusion. What do you mean exactly?"

"If my life was in your hands, would you spare my life?" he asked plainly, no hint of emotion in his voice whatsoever. The only way I could tell he was feeling anything at all was the spikes of emotion he tried hiding in his eyes, but with every passing moment I could tell the walls hiding his emotions were coming down quick.

Realization hit me but I remained silent, not really knowing what to say. If it was just Naruto's decision, he would definitely do everything in his power to save him, but as the Hokage…could he let someone like Sasuke free again?

Sasuke for once in his entire life smiled at me, a sad smile, but still a smile. And it completely broke my heart. The only time he ever smiled for me… and it was when we were talking about his death. "I didn't think so," he said softly.

"You know I'll do everything I can for you Sasuke…" I said lowly, not meeting his gaze.

"Why should you?" he snapped suddenly, causing me to flinch slightly. All the guards in the hallway tensed, but didn't dare come to check on them knowing that I would call for them if I needed them. More calmly, he continued. "Why should my salvation even be a question for everything I have done?"

I stayed quiet for a long while before looking back at him finally. "Why did you come back if you were almost certain you were going to be executed?"

Sasuke slowly looked up at me and stared me in the eye once more. "After everything I have done to you… the least you deserve is to watch me die. Whether you want to see me executed in front of the entire village or to see it done only by your eyes…it's up to you. I do not deserve anything better than death for all the suffering I have caused you. To everyone."

I was taken aback when he said that and was completely caught off guard. My heart ached hearing him speak like that and it left me speechless. He just came here to… die? This was the first time I had ever seen Sasuke so…vulnerable. Not because he was chained to the wall (because we both knew he could easily break free from this place if he wanted to), but mentally. This wasn't Sasuke.

"You shouldn't talk like that, Sasuke…" I whispered, not trusting my voice. If it had been in his nature in the slightest, I thought he might laugh, which I wouldn't have minded at all to lighten the mood. I did not like hearing him speak like this at all, which broke my heart even more.

"Why?" he asked lowly, more calm than I wanted to hear.

I stayed quiet for a long moment, thinking carefully about what I should say. He was set so clearly on dying, what could I say? Did he truly want death so bad, or does he honestly believe there wasn't any salvation for him? I couldn't stand the thought of Sasuke embracing death so closely.

Slowly, I walked over to him and put my hands on either side of his chakra restraints, feeling them begin to drain my chakra slightly in return and stared him in the eye, mere inches from his face. I stared at him for a long moment before whispering, "do you want to die?"

Sasuke remained quiet for a long time, staring me in the eye and for a moment I thought he wasn't going to say anything. "Yes."

My heart skipped a beat after he finally admitted it and it took me a moment to realize I had stopped breathing. Hearing that one word, made me feel completely helpless and shredded my heart to ribbons. The reason he came here, was to die, and he wanted me to ensure his death. I slowly backed away from him until my back softly hit the steel bars behind me which was the only thing supporting me at this moment, since my legs had turned into spaghetti. A long silence filled the room as I looked everywhere but Sasuke's face; I couldn't bare to look at him.

A tear threatened to fall as I found enough courage to finally look at him. "You shouldn't have come back," I said, my voice wavering. I tapped on the door a few time, signifying to the guards I wanted to leave. I briskly walked back over to him and stared him in the eye, so close our noses almost touched. "You should have saved me the trouble." As the guard opened the door, I quickly put the blindfold back over Sasuke's eyes, not wanting to see them anymore and walked out of the cell, disappearing down the hallway.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

_Sasuke_

Two weeks had passed since Naruto had visited me in jail, but he had definitely left me with something to remember him by. The last words he had spoken to me were so embedded in my mind, it was hard to think about anything else. His words devastated me and the pain only intensified the more the words replayed in my head over and over again. My worse fear had come true when I heard the words spoken to me, and he hadn't been to visit me ever since. I knew my words would hurt the blond, but I knew I couldn't lie to him. Surely I thought he could understand my reasoning's behind it, but he did not. No one ever did. I had nothing else to lose, no family, friends, home, and nothing I could give, other than the satisfaction that I would die and please the many people who despised me with every fiber of their beings, including Naruto. That was the only thing left for me to do in this life.

A few days after my capture, I had been released from my restraints and had my blindfold taken off, which was replaced with only ankle cuffs that sucked the chakra from my body. I was given an actual cell to stay in and was given food regularly, but I never felt like eating it. Every day, I went to sleep, wishing I would never wake again, but was woken up every morning by the guy who brought me breakfast. I knew that Naruto had pulled some strings for me to be in an actual cell instead of bolted down to a chair, but it didn't really give me any peace of mind that he cared for me in the slightest. Day in and day out, I sat on the cot, waiting for the guards to carry me away for my execution, and I didn't know which was worse: waiting for the moment where they would come to get him and escort him to his execution or seeing the look on Naruto's face the moment before he was killed.

Over the past couple weeks, I was taken outside my cell and interrogated by Ibiki Morino, the best interrogator of the village, but I never spoke a word to him, which always pissed him off to no end which caused him to always storm out of the room and ordering me back into my cell. I had to admit he… had a way with words, but his techniques only worked on those who had something to lose.

A low sigh escaped my lips when I heard the door in the hallway open, accompanied by the sound of several people walking down the hallway, who stopped in front of my cell. Slowly, I looked up at them, expression blank.

"Sasuke Uchiha, you have a meeting to attend to," one of the guards said, making sure not to look me in the eye in case I tried using my Sharingan. He tried acting tough as he threw a pair of chakra cuffs and a blindfold into my cell, but it was easy to tell he was nervous.

"_Maybe this is actually it."_

Without saying anything, I slowly picked up the blindfold and cuffs and slowly put on the blindfold, tying it tightly to try making them more at ease. He doubted it worked, either way.

"Put your hands behind your back and put the cuffs on as well," another guard said, stepping up to the plate to make up for his partner's fright. At least this one sounded confident in his commands.

Without waiting, I put the cuffs on and turned my back to the bars so they could see they were on as they opened the door and grabbed me firmly by either arm and pulled me out of the cell. I stood there motionless for a moment as the guards patted down my body, feeling for any weapon I may have hidden and tested the cuffs to make sure they were on correctly before walking towards the door. After we passed the doorway that led out of the dank basement cells, we stopped once more and was joined by one other person. As I waited patiently, I was slightly shocked when I felt a small, sharp object that was injected into my arm. I tried pulling away from the guards for the first time since I had been here, but was held down tightly.

"What are you doing?" I asked, slightly angry and alert.

"Extra precautions, Uchiha," another voice said, but at least this one sounded familiar, but I couldn't quite put a face with their voice. "It's sedatives so you don't make a dart for the doors as soon as we take you into the court room."

I immediately calmed down as I felt the drugs coursing through my veins. They were powerful enough to indeed knock me off my feet, but I remained conscious. So they were paralyzing sedatives. Smart. When we started walking again, it took several guards to hold me up as we walked up a flight of staircases then down a long hallway before turning into another room and was seated.

For what seemed like half an hour, I sat there, waiting for whatever was to happen. As I waited, I listened to my surroundings carefully, trying to get a feel of how big the room was and how many people were actually in it. I felt the presence of at least five people standing quietly in the room and the room actually not seeming to be big at all. I heard the door open and in came three more people. As the door shut, one guy slowly took his time walking over to the front of where I was standing, keeping only about a five-foot distance from me.

"Hokage-sama." I heard a few guards say and my body froze over. Naruto was here. The same ache in my chest came back as I waited for a painstaking moment to see if Naruto spoke to him, but when he spoke, it wasn't directed towards me.

"Take off his blindfold," Naruto said strongly. I could smell the sweet scent of his breath brush over my face as he spoke. He may have only been a few inches from me, but he still felt miles away.

I could feel the tension in the room increase and the room fell silent for a long moment before I felt movement. One guard walked over to me and immediately took off my blindfold; it was the same guy who had given me the sedatives. As I looked up at him, I remembered him almost immediately. Long, brown hair and white, vacant eyes. It was Neji Hyuga. As our eyes met, he stared at me hard for a moment before stepping back again.

As I waited for Naruto to speak, I looked around the room, looking everywhere but Naruto. I had been right about the number of guards in the room, but I felt it a little unnecessary to have this amount of guards in such a small area, but then again, they were in a small area with the Hokage, which meant if I was to try attacking Naruto with the intent to kill, it would be a lot easier to take me down before I even laid a finger on him. There were no windows in the room and the walls were a bare white with the exception of one wall having a large mirrored window on it. The room was pretty much like an interrogation room, but the large conference table in the middle of the room was taken out and replaced with a few rows of seats, along with a table tucked away on the wall underneath the mirrored window.

"Before we start, I would like for all the guards to leave the room," Naruto stated, looking at each and every face. The guards looked at him as if he was crazy and didn't budge.

"I'm sorry, Hokage-sama, but that's not going to happen," Neji said, speaking up for all of them.

"I did not ask a question," Naruto said, losing his temper slightly, which didn't affect the Hyuga at all. "The first time I said it nicely. Do not make me repeat myself."

"My apologies, but we're not going to leave you unprotected, Naruto. I insist, at least let me stay with you."

Naruto sighed heavily and looked up at Neji with a hard glare. "Wait. Outside." Defeated, all the guards, including the Hyuga vacated the room, leaving only Naruto and myself in it.

The next time Naruto spoke, it was finally directed towards me. "Sasuke."

I looked towards the front of the room, but didn't look at him. Truth was, I didn't know if I actually could.

"Look at me."

I closed my eyes tightly and shook my head slightly. "I'm sorry, but I cannot."

Naruto sighed heavily once more and walked up to me, getting right in my face. He stayed there for a time, making sure I felt the intense stare he was giving me right now. He smelled of an almost sweet, musky scent, just the way he had smelled from our last encounter. "Do you not realize the seriousness of this situation? _This very moment_ will decide your fate, Sasuke. If you cannot comply, it's not going to help you at all."

I clenched my teeth together and froze, trying to keep it together. My self control was decreasing fast and I didn't know if I would actually be able to do this without losing every ounce of self-control I had. His first and last visit he had with me had completely broken me and this was too overpowering for me right now. "Please…" I said softly, my voice wavering slightly. Everything in this moment was completely uncharacteristic of me and I knew it.

Naruto gasped slightly and froze in front of me before slowly pulling away and taking a few steps back. I didn't know whether or not it was because he was shocked at my please or the sound of desperation in my voice but it had worked. He definitely realized how unlike myself I was as well.

It took Naruto a long moment before speaking again. "I'm going to have to ask you some questions, and you have to answer them, Sasuke. I know you haven't spoken a word to anyone else, so it seems I'm the only one you will talk to; that is what leads me here today. If you do not comply, then I really can't help you."

I slowly opened my eyes. "I thought you didn't care," I said in a low voice, staring at the ground.

"Why do you say that?" Naruto asked, sounding slightly taken aback.

"Just let them kill me, Naruto. I don't want to waste any more of your time."

He grabbed me by the shirt collar, tugging on it harshly a few times. "Look at me, bastard."

I didn't try doing anything as he shook me, and I didn't think I could even if I wanted to. Having no other choice, I took a deep breath and slowly looked up at him, staring him in the eye.

He let go of my shirt but didn't move away as he stared me in the eye angrily. "I have sacrificed more than you will _ever_ know when I came looking for you. Blood, sweat, tears, pain, my _dreams_; I risked it all to bring you home! I promised you I would, I promised Sakura, I promised _myself_ I would bring you back. After two years of trying, I had to give up. Not because I wanted to; I did it for _you._ It was obvious you didn't want to come back, so I finally gave up on you to let you be. I suffered more than you will ever know by making that decision! Do you know how the fuck it affected me? I finally gave up because that's what you wanted and when I finally came to the realization you were gone forever, you fucking come back. _Why?_"

He grabbed my shirt again and shook me harder a couple of times before throwing me harshly against the chair. By this point, I couldn't find my voice to speak and it killed me seeing Naruto so worked up and upset. I closed my eyes and lowered my head, hoping I had enough self control to speak.

"Our encounter five years ago, I had every intention to come back after I killed my brother. The only thing I could think about every day was the remorse I felt for leaving the village in the first place, but what could I do? I wasn't going to gain the power I needed to achieve my goal by staying in the village, so I had no choice. All the hate I pretended to show...it was all an act. I had to pretend to despise you and everyone else so you would stop pursuing me and after a while it worked…and I regretted it once you had given up for good because of it. I never had any true intentions of killing you, Naruto, and I knew no matter what it came down to, I would have never had the strength to kill you even if I had to."

A long silence ensued as we both stayed there, frozen. I couldn't believe I poured out everything like that, but Naruto needed to know the truth and this was probably the last opportunity I had to tell him. I looked up at Naruto for a moment with a tear in my eye and noticed he had a few of his own.

Time seemed to almost freeze as I waited for Naruto to say something - anything. Despite what he thought about what I said, at least the suspense would be over and I knew what he was thinking, whether or not he believed what I had said. I watched as he stood rooted to the spot, eyes wide and staring at the floor.

"Naruto…please say something..."

He slowly looked up at me and stared. An almost sad expression crossed his face, but I couldn't be for sure. "If that is so, then tell me your reasons for plotting an attack against the village."

I closed my eyes. It hadn't been a response I had hoped for, but I understood he needed to somewhat keep a professional attitude with this situation. He had struck out already with his emotions, but I think most of it was to extract some emotion from me and to get me to talk. This time he didn't need to do anything to get information out of me, because I was willing to give him everything he had asked of me.

"After I had killed my brother and learned the truth behind everything, I completely despised the Leaf Village for making my brother do such a vile thing. I did plot an attack to destroy the village out of the pure hatred I felt for it, bu I knew I was lying to myself. After the anger had died down and I got my reasoning back, I knew I wasn't going to destroy the village; I couldn't. I am in no way proud of attacking in the first place, but I thought to myself if it came down to you and I again…I was going to give up and allow you to kill me. Ever since I left the village, I always felt hollow and the only thing that kept driving me to keep going was to kill my brother, but after that was done, I had nothing else to motivate me to keep going. To distract myself I came up with the faulty task to destroy the village, something I had no intentions of truly carrying out, once again."

"Then why didn't you come home?" he asked softly.

I slowly looked up at him. "Because you said you would forget about me. With..." I took a deep breath, "without you driving me to come back and not knowing if you even wanted me anymore, I had no emotional attachments to bring me back." I could tell Naruto was trying to hold back some tears, but at least he was remaining stronger than I thought he would through this. He really had grown up.

"…so why did you want to die?"

I closed my eyes. "Because without you…I have nothing more." I opened my eyes again, staring at him. "The biggest mistake I ever made was leaving you in the first place."

At this, Naruto completely seized up and stared, shock written all over his face. His mouth hung agape for a long moment before he realized it and shut it tightly. For a while we stayed in silence, waiting for Naruto to regain his composure. After he did, he cleared his throat and grabbed a chair, sitting directly in front of me.

"Do you honestly believe you should be put to death for your actions?"

I stayed silent for a moment, thinking of the question thoroughly before answering. "There are plenty of things I am not proud of doing. I've killed, attacked my own people, and went rogue for eight years before turning myself in. My actions could have caused more casualties than there already is and none should have died in the first place because of me. I ran away and fought alongside with some of the most ruthless criminals and none of these I am proud of to admit. The punishment for a ninja going rogue has serious consequences itself, so with the things that I have done along with it…I know I do not deserve to live."

Naruto sighed heavily and lowered his head as he rubbed his eyes tiredly. This had taken a lot out of us both already, but I felt this conversation was far from over. "If you happened to get a second chance…what would you do with it?"

I balled both my hands into fists behind my back tightly. The action could have been seen as annoyance or anger, so I immediately stopped doing it and looked up at Naruto from the corner of my eye. "May I ask you a question first?" Naruto nodded his head once. "With all the information I have given you so far, what do you think I would do with it?"

The question seemed to surprise Naruto and as he sat there, he stared into space deep in thought. When he seemed to come up with a reasonable answer, he frowned and looked up at me. "I don't think you would run away again. From what you have told me, you are very ashamed of your actions and I believe you would never do anything like you have done ever again. I know the old Sasuke, the rogue Sasuke, and the Sasuke in front of me now and to tell you the truth…I don't think you would ever do anything, to be truthful. No matter what the verdict of the trail is, I believe it would have the same ending anyways."

I watched Naruto as he spoke and stared one another in the eye. I knew what he was insinuating, and all I could do was smile sadly at him. "I seek no desire to live with the things I have done. This trial is pointless, because I feel my past actions are unforgivable…especially the ones that include you." I shook my head. "Since I've had all this time to think about it, I cannot believe what I have put you through and I wouldn't hesitate to take it all back if I could, Naruto."

"Excuse me." Naruto quickly got out of his chair and briskly walked out the door, shutting the door behind him. I heard him speaking to the guards outside before the door opened again and in came all the guards. At first, I thought they were coming to take me back to my cell, but they took guarding positions around the room and waited, not daring steal a glance at me.

While Naruto was out of the room, I closed my eyes and rested for the moment. The sedatives were slowly starting to wear off, but the after affects were making me tired.

As I sat there, I thought back to everything we had been talking about and couldn't believe that I told him _everything_. No one had ever gotten into my thoughts before and now Naruto knew every single one of them; well, except one, and that one Naruto could _never_ find out. I still didn't know how Naruto felt about my return, but even if he was the happiest man alive to see me, he would never find out that I loved him, because I knew it couldn't be returned. A small smile graced my lips at the thought as I thought of the fantasy of him returning the love, but I knew it was impossible.

* * *

_Naruto_

After I had left the room, I quickly made my way for the door and immediately breathed in a gulp of fresh air. Being inside that room had been suffocating and it didn't help that I was actually having the first heart-to-heart with Sasuke, if you could call interrogation at a court hearing that. It was very depressing; the first time Sasuke told me his true feelings and it was filled with such darkness and self-loathing. Completely opposite of the Sasuke I once knew. I closed my eyes and took in a few more deep gulps of the fresh air before the door opened behind me and Sakura came out, which I didn't bother to acknowledge her.

"The Elders were worried. You just bolted out of the room," Sakura said lowly, stopping by my side. She sighed and looked out across the village, looking at some distant mountains. "They told me to come check on you."

"Sakura, I can't do this…" I said lowly through clenched teeth and looked at the ground.

"He...seems so different…"

I looked up at her and stared her in the eye. It was easy to tell she had been crying because her eyes were now bloodshot. "That's why I can't do it." I shook my head. "He's completely different. He's so…sad."

"How do we know it's not just and act?"

I shook my head again and looked off in the distance. "I know Sasuke. He would never put on an act like this despite how desperate he was. He's the real Sasuke…we've just been too blind to notice it before." I clenched my teeth together and clutched my hand into a fist. "He's in pain, Sakura. So much pain… It kills me to even look at him because all I can see is the sadness in his eyes. He has just given up."

"This can't be Sasuke. He's _too_ different."

"This _is_ Sasuke! This has always been him, he just buried himself away so people couldn't see. It makes perfect sense to me now." I looked up at the clouds and smiled sadly. "He never lost the little boy side of himself and that was the side I always knew existed somewhere in the depths of him even though he always tried to hide it from us all. All this time, he felt everything he told us today, but it was buried more deeply than I could get to and he made sure never to show it. In the end, though, it actually took losing me for that side of him to finally show itself…"

"But why you?"

I sighed and looked at the ground, shaking my head. "That's what I have to find out."

Silence swept over the both of us for a long moment before either of us spoke again.

"He can't be executed, Sakura…" I looked up at her, desperation and despair written all over my face.

Sakura sighed in defeat, but suddenly gasped as a thought came to mind. "I know how to get him off the death penalty."

I quickly looked over at her. "Seriously? How?"

She looked over at me, and smiled. "I know this isn't something to be happy about, but I believe it's the only way to convince the Elders to give him a second chance. Sasuke's clearly in an unstable mental state and he's been begging for death. By law, you cannot persecute anyone if they're in a poor mental state despite their crimes."

I thought about it for a moment. "So you're saying Sasuke should be put in the mental hospital?"

She frowned but nodded. "I believe it's the only way. It would take a medical examination of his current mental state, but most of the questions that would need to be answered, you've already supplied answers for. The only thing we need to do is talk to the Elders about it."

I sighed and thought about this for a long moment. This did seem like the only way to save Sasuke but at what cost? He would be put in a mental institute, but at least he wouldn't be dead. It worried me that Sasuke had such dark thoughts of dying but maybe this was the key to Sasuke's salvation. All of this sounded so easy, but I knew it would take a lot of convincing with the Elders about this, especially with a rogue ninja with such a reputation as Sasuke's, but I wasn't bound to give up on him. I never truly had and this was one promise I wasn't going to fail him on.

"Lets do it." I stood up and turned towards the door and opened it, waiting for Sakura to walk in first. "Lets go talk to the Elders."

She nodded and walked through the door, myself following behind her.

We both walked back to the room, but walked pass the door that led into the room Sasuke was being held in and actually walked inside the room behind the mirrored window where we could see Sasuke still sitting there with his head lowered. It almost looked like he was asleep. I looked in the middle of the room and saw the Elders sitting down, staring up at me.

"I have a proposition to make."

It took over an hour for Sakura and I to make the Elders agree to the plan, but it was an extremely close call. There wasn't much they could argue about, considering the law of not being able to punish a prisoner who is mentally unstable, but they were borderline of making an exception for him, deeming him not unstable enough to comply to the law, but with the revelations I had made earlier, Sakura and I had won. In the deal, we had also came to the agreement that Sasuke stay in my own home with plenty of guards for protection because it was too dangerous for him to be put in a regular mental hospital.

After the Elders had left, Sakura and I celebrated a short victory before leaving the room and walking into the room where Sasuke still waited. I felt sorry for him being cooped up in this room alone for over an hour, but it was well worth the wait, or at least I hoped so.

As I walked inside, I motioned for all the guards to leave the room once more and brought Sakura in the room as well and walked over to him. When we approached him, he didn't budge.

"Sasuke…" I said lowly, trying to get him to look up at us. As I waited for him to say something, I noticed his soft breathing. He was asleep. A smile slowly crept on my face. Today had been a long day, but it wasn't quite over yet. I softly nudged him on the arm, which cased him to spring his head up in alert and looked at me.

"Sasuke Uchiha, the verdict is in…" I said lowly, staring him in the eye. "Due to a few…complications, the court order for your punishment has been nullified."

It took a long time for him to fully understand the meaning behind those words, but I knew he understood when I saw his eyes widen and stare me in the eye, surprise completely overtaking him. "Wh-what? You cannot pull any favors for me, Naruto," he said sternly.

"Actually, we're not pulling any favors at all. It's the law." I couldn't help but grin like I little kid who just received a piece of candy and rubbed the back of my head. I hadn't done that in forever, but I felt so…accomplished. I had kept my promise to Sasuke after all, and I couldn't help but feel happy that Sasuke was freed from death's grip.

"Wait… what are you talking about?" Sasuke looked at Sakura for a moment then back to me.

"The law says that any prisoner who is mentally unstable cannot be punished by the justice system due to their mental state in any way, although after a prisoner is hospitalized and confirmed cured, another court hearing may take place," Sakura explained. She frowned at the last part.

Sasuke soaked in every word Sakura said then turned back to me. "Wait…I'm being _hospitalized?_"

"Well, to be technical about it, you'll be staying in my home since you're still too dangerous to be admitted into a normal institute, but doctors will come to my house and give the same treatment." I smiled slightly at him.

"But why?"

I sighed and frowned. "Sasuke, you know I couldn't let them kill you. This way, I know for sure you will not be executed. Especially after everything you had told me… I couldn't allow you to just… die. I told you I would save you Sasuke, and I'm still working on it, but it's a promise I plan on keeping no matter what. You're just going to have to meet me in the middle here." I stared Sasuke in the eye intently, trying to find any emotion hidden in his eyes that he wasn't showing us, but there were none; just surprise and still a little sadness.

"Thank you…Naruto." Sasuke stood up slowly as if he was going to scare me off like a frightened deer and very shockingly, bowed. "I'll try to not let you down again. I swear to you, Naruto."

Shock was an understatement of how I felt at this moment as I stared bewildered when he bowed to me. Sakura almost shared the same expression, but had an easier time covering it up. "Don't thank me until you're cured. And I hope, maybe one day…things can be like they used to be." I smiled slightly.

Sasuke stayed quiet for a long moment. "Things will never be the same, Naruto," he said lowly, averting his gaze from mind. "Things may stabilize but it will never be like it used to be."

I clenched my teeth together and nodded a little, not saying anything else. He was right. "Sakura, can you tell the guards to come inside? I'll need them to help me escort Sasuke out of here."

She immediately complied and walked over to the door. I heard her speaking to them and in no time, four guards entered the room.

"Due to certain circumstances, Sasuke Uchiha will be staying with me at my home for a while. I will need you to escort him to my estate."

All of them shared glances with one another, but bowed and complied to my order. I followed behind them silently all the way back to my home. On the way there I watched the shocked expressions on everyone's faces as they stared at the Uchiha but none dared to say anything to him, especially not in the presence of the Hokage, not wanting to be rude.

When we got to my home, we walked inside and the first thing I did was get Sasuke something to eat. At first Sasuke refused to eat but after a little…encouragement he soon complied. I noticed how skinny he had gotten and had told him I would shovel it in his mouth if he forced me to. After making the suggestion, I had never seen anyone pick anything up so fast in my life.

After he finished eating, I had him taken up to my personal bath house so he could take a bath and get the filth off him. Back at the jail they had only allowed him to bathe every three days due to the risk it involved, so he wasn't that great of a sight to see. At least with this he didn't seem to mind and did so without word. When he was finished, I told one guard to go get him some clothes and brought them back to Sasuke to put on.

After Sasuke had put on his clothes, I took him to the room beside him that would be his bedroom. Inside it, there was a huge bed in the middle of the room, along with a dresser on one wall and a large bathroom on the other wall with a few more furniture items scattered throughout the room.

"You should get some sleep, Sasuke. It's been a long day," I said, looking at him. The guards were still in the room, but I tried to ignore the fact that they were there. It wasn't that I didn't trust Sasuke, it was the fact that I promised the Elders I would have a close eye on him at all times.

"I'm not really that tired," he protested, walking over to the bed and sitting on it while staring at the ground.

This brought a slight smile to my lips. "You _know_ I can't believe that," I said, walking over to him. "You almost fell asleep while you were eating dinner."

"The sedatives were wearing off. I'm okay now, though."

I shook my head. "Just get some sleep, would you? Tomorrow, you can do as you please."

"I have a few questions to ask you first."

I grinned at him and slowly backed out of the room before whispering, "tomorrow," and shut the door behind me.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

_Sasuke_

The next morning, I awoke to the sunlight shining brightly through the window above the bed, bathing me in its light. For the past few weeks I had been kept in the dingy basement of the jail that had zero sunlight - hardly any light at all - so the light that I saw now was almost unbearable. As I looked around the room, dark splotches blurred my vision as I waited for my eyes to adjust. I slowly sat up on the bed and took in my surroundings. It took a moment for realization to kick in before I remembered where I was and the events that happened the day before. My eyes slowly fell to the floor.

"_Naruto…"_

"It's about time you woke up Uchiha," someone said from the doorway, startling me slightly. I hadn't even felt the presence of the two who had just walked in.

I looked over in their direction and saw two familiar faces standing on either side of the door. One had messy brown hair and two red marks on either cheek that were partially covered by a month old beard, beside him standing a very large dog who stared at me intently. The other guy had spiky brown hair and wore round sunglasses with his jacket covering half of his face.

"Kiba and Shino, right?" I asked, looking between the both of them.

Kiba gave a toothy grin. "So the Uchiha doesn't forget unimportant faces after eight years."

"I guess you made a bigger impression that you thought," I said muttered, trying to be friendly with them. Usually, I would have ignored the comment but for Naruto's, and my, sake, I was going to try making as best an impression as possible.

"Kiba, remember you're on duty," Shino said, still frozen in place. He was standing erect and at attention, but I knew he was staring at me, watching my every move. And if I remembered his abilities clear enough, he probably had bugs hidden all throughout the room, watching and listening in on him while he slept. The realization didn't really bother me as much as it should have, since the prison's basement was crawling with them.

"Hey, I'm not doing anything," Kiba protested, glancing at his teammate before looking back at me.

"What time is it?" I asked, trying to prevent an argument between the two. From what I remembered from the Inuzuka, he was pretty much like Naruto and would argue until he won…or until the other finally ignored him.

"It's almost noon," Shino said. "Hurry and get presentable. After you eat breakfast, we have been ordered to escort you to Naruto-sama's office. He has also instructed that we use force if necessary if you fail to comply to any of these orders."

"Fail to comply getting dressed?" I raised an eyebrow.

"Just read this and save us the trouble of repeating ourselves." Kiba pulled out a folded up letter from his pocket and handed it to me. Without wasting time, I opened it and began to read. The letters were scribbled onto a piece of paper that looked like a five year-old had written it - definitely Naruto's handwriting.

_First off, I'm trusting you not to do anything stupid, not that I don't trust you (because I do). Secondly I figured it would be best if I allowed you to sleep a while longer for the simple fact that I didn't know if you'd try pummeling me for waking you from you beauty sleep, so I chose the safer approach. I have ordered the guards to escort you to my office as soon as you get ready and eat breakfast. Just tell the maid in the kitchen what you would like to eat and she will kindly fix it for you. I'll be waiting. -Naruto_

_PS: I did you a favor so throw me a bone here. You better eat! You're in no condition to go around starving yourself so it'd be best to do it willingly. I have also given orders to your guards to shovel it down your throat if they have to. _

_PSS: I took the liberty of sending someone to do your clothes shopping for you so you won't have to wear those hideous jail uniforms any more. Orange is definitely not your color. (The clothes are in your closet and dresser.)_

A small smile crept on my face after I finished the letter and folded it again before tossing it on the foot of the bed. I walked over to the closet and sifted through the clothes. He definitely gave me a wardrobe. There was a large variety of clothes to pick from, most of them either blue, black, or white. After looking through them all, I decided on a plain grey long-sleeve shirt and a pair of black sweat pants. I walked over to the dresser after getting the clothes off the hangers and got some underwear before walking to the bathroom that I luckily had in my room.

"Are you guys supposed to watch me taking a shower as well?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at them. I knew I deserved to be watched like a hawk, so the prospect seemed likely.

"I think we'll take the chance," Kiba sad, scowling.

"Can I at least have a razor to shave? I didn't see any in the bathroom last night."

"You know, men don't usually shave their legs," Kiba said, smirking.

At this I looked over at him, glaring slightly. Before I could make a retort, Shino jumped in.

"Don't antagonize him, Kiba," Shino snapped. "As for razors, you're not permitted to have one, at least for now." Did they expect him to slit his wrists or something? Knowing Naruto, though, he wouldn't want to take any chances, but it still annoyed him a little.

I shook my head with a little annoyance and walked into the bathroom with a 'hn.' After I took a quick shower and put my clothes on, I walked back outside where Kiba and Shino were still waiting. It looked as if they had been in an argument in his absence, since Kiba had his arms crossed with a pouting expression plastered on his face. It was going to be a long walk to the Hokage Tower if they kept this up.

"Shall we go now?" I asked, crossing my arms.

Shino nodded and walked out the door with Kiba as I followed. As we walked to the kitchen, I took in every detail of the place and couldn't help but feel awed. I did not know the layout of this place and felt slightly trapped for not having the knowledge. Before I always entered a new place, I always took in my surroundings before walking through for safety reasons, but last night my mind was in such a haze I just stared at the floor and followed Naruto into the bedroom.

I took in all my surroundings as we walked down a large spiral staircase to the main level of the house. All the walls were elegantly decorated with paintings of beautiful landmarks around the village. Walking a little further, we came across a dedication wall of the Hokage's. I couldn't help but smile when I saw Naruto's face one of the large paintings. We took a few more turns until we reached the large dining hall, where I was immediately greeted by a maid who bowed in front of me.

"Good morning! Hokage-sama has told me to prepare anything to your liking," she said, smiling. Unlike everyone else, she actually looked me in the eye when she spoke and didn't act as if I'd cut her head off when I looked at her.

I smiled back at her slightly, but it disappeared just as quickly. "Just toast and jam will be fine."

The maid bowed once more before walking off briskly, disappearing into the kitchen.

"Hey, what about us?" Kiba asked, looking a bit crestfallen.

"Because she knows that we're on duty," Shino said without bothering to look at his teammate. "Now keep quiet and be professional for once in your life."

Kiba sighed. "Lighten up, would you?" At this, Shino didn't respond. He knew it was pointless to try winning this because the Inuzuka's were known for their stubbornness and would have won either way.

I walked over and took a seat at the dining table that looked like it could sit twenty people easily. It didn't take long though for the maid to bring out toast with two different types of jam, butter, and a cup of steaming coffee. After I thanked her and she disappeared back into the kitchen, I quickly ate all my food and drank the coffee despite the protest my throat felt for drinking the scalding liquid.

"In a hurry, are we?" Kiba commented, grinning. I pretended not to have heard him as I finished the last bit of my food. He was right, though. It was completely unlike me (even though lately everything seemed to be unlike me), but I couldn't help but feel anxious to see Naruto and I didn't really care if it showed. Every time Naruto and I had spoken to one another since I had been back, it had been talking on the behalf of whether or not I would live or die and we never got to talk about how Naruto really felt about my return. He seemed to be happy last night but that alone couldn't say how he felt about everything. Last night he found a loophole in the village's justice system which had saved my life and he was merely riding on the high of the accomplishment.

"I'm ready to go now," I said after piling my dishes into a pile and standing up.

"Alright. We will take you to the Hokage's office, then," Shino said, walking to the doorway. "Kiba you take the rear guard. I'll lead the way."

Kiba complied to Shino's orders with no complaint, which actually surprised me since he was almost like a complete copy of Naruto and was usually running his mouth or complaining most of the time, but I wasn't complaining. The three of us walked in single file out of the house and onto the streets of Konoha without speaking to one another during the entire walk. Even though the Hokage Tower was only a five minute walk, it seemed like an hour. All the people in the village seemed to gather around the three of us, gawking at the highly dangerous Uchiha walking down the streets of Konoha freely without even as much as chakra restraints on his wrists. From the corner of my eye, I could see some villagers pulling the younger ones closer to their sides and hiding them behind their back as I passed and I couldn't help but overhear the whispered conversations amongst some of them, who probably purposely spoke loud enough for me to hear, saying things like "why haven't they killed him already?" and "they've gave Uchiha the chance to destroy us all now." Eventually I lowered my head and closed my eyes as we continued walking, trying to drown out all of the gossip. The hate was already to be expected from them, so at least I was a little prepared for all the things I was hearing now.

Not a moment too soon we arrived at the Hokage Tower, but once the guards saw me, they raised their guards tenfold and wouldn't allow us to pass, saying they had heard no orders from the Hokage about allowing the Uchiha into the Tower. Immediately, Kiba began arguing with them, which began to get heated more by the minute and caused quite a scene with the villagers, who quickly began gathering around us. I didn't have any doubt that some of the villagers thought I was giving them trouble and trying to force my way inside to kill the Hokage.

"We are under strict direct orders from the Hokage to escort Uchiha to his office!' Kiba yelled at the two. He started to say something else, but was cut off.

"Kiba calm down," Shino said sternly, but I doubt the words got through to him.

"We are under strict orders to keep any…" the main guard looked over at me and met my gaze for a moment before quickly averting his line of sight back to Kiba, "_civilians_ from entering unless given other orders from the higher ranks."

"The Hokage gave the order earlier this morning to allow the Uchiha through!" Kiba yelled, glaring at the guy.

"Then I guess that's your problem. We have only been at this post for about an hour and relieved the earlier guards. They gave us no special orders to allow him through these doors. So if you have a problem performing your duties, then take it up with them."

"Then allow me to straighten this out," Shino said a little louder, clearly annoyed. I didn't know he was even capable of more than one emotion. "In the mean time, _Kiba_, stand down." Shino then disappeared into the Tower.

Kiba and the two guards quit arguing but the tension in the air remained just as strong. I closed my eyes and mentally sighed, waiting for Shino to come back with the order for these guys to let us through. Even though I couldn't see them, I could feel many set of eyes boring into the back of my head. Not a moment too soon the doors swung open immediately as Naruto rushed outside. I looked at him, but his attention was held solely on the two guards now.

"What is the problem?" Naruto asked sternly, crossing his arms as he stared at the main guard. "I gave the order earlier today to allow Sasuke Uchiha through. Was that too complicated for you to understand?"

"With all do respect, Hokage-sama," the guard began. "But we've only been on this post for about an hour now and the other guards gave no special orders before we relieved them of their duty."

Naruto continued staring at the two in silence for a moment. "Well now you have been informed. Unless youhear differently from me, Sasuke Uchiha is welcomed here at all times and make sure you tell the next guards when they relieve you of your duties. Am I clear?"

"Yes, Hokage-sama," the guards said in unison and bowed quickly.

"I want you to take the names of these guards and the names of the guards that had this post earlier and report them back to me ASAP," Naruto told Shino, who bowed his head in compliance.

Naruto finally turned around and looked at me for a moment before motioning me inside after him. I followed him silently into the building and all the way to his office, Kiba tailing behind us. Since he was pissed, he didn't say anything to either of us on the walk there. After I walked in, Naruto shut the door behind me to deny Kiba access and walked over to his desk, looking out the window with his back towards me. Naruto was under a lot of stress and I knew if it were any other day than today, he would have at least acknowledged Kiba, but I was pretty sure he'd apologize for it later; that's just how he was. For a few moments I stood in the middle of the room feeling awkward in the silence and feeling emotionally exhausted from everything that had happened in the last twenty minutes. A younger Sasuke would have easily been able to brush something like that off…actually years ago he would have completely paralyzed everyone in fear with a simple glance in their direction.

"Not the best way to start a day," Naruto commented softly, finally breaking the silence. He slowly turned around and stared at me. At first I couldn't bring myself to meet his gaze but I felt compelled not to. Bright blue orbs bore into my own black pools and it made me feel so little under the heavy gaze he was giving me, just like a child's parents staring them down for just getting into trouble and they were about to be punished for it.

"I've had better days," I mumbled finally, not daring to break eye contact. To be honest, I was actually quite content with sharing this moment with Naruto; it was better than what I thought would have ever happened. Another small silence fell over us before Naruto motioned towards a chair for me to sit down, which I complied.

"Did you at least sleep well?" Naruto asked after taking his own seat behind his desk and looking down at some papers in front of him, but I highly doubted he was actually reading them.

"Lets cut the bull," I finally said, anxiety continuing to grow in the pit of my stomach. I closed my eyes for a moment, gaining a little courage before opening them and looking back at him. "I've been gone for a long time and talking about how my day is isn't exactly what I had in mind for topics to converse about. Are you going to ask me how's the weather next?"

"Then what do you want to talk about, Sasuke?" he asked as he leaned forward in his chair and put his arms on the desk. He wasn't saying it sarcastically for legitimate curiosity shone in his eyes.

"The truth," I said immediately. I bit the inside of my jaw and waited a moment to collect my nerves before continuing, which only made me feel more anxious. "I've… been gone a long time-"

Naruto snorted. "You don't say?" he asked with monotonous sarcasm.

"I've changed, Naruto. And I truly want to show you that I have. Over the years I've had a lot of time alone to think about everything I've done and I guess you could say I came to a peace with myself. That's what made me decide to come back. I decided that I truly didn't care what happened to me as long as I could have one opportunity to talk to you again, even if it was for the smallest of moments. You can't believe how truly amazed I am that I'm still alive, even more so that I'm even sitting in the same room as you." I took in a deep breath and slowly let it out, trying to remain as composed as possible which was starting to prove to be a bit difficult. "I didn't expect to be given this opportunity you're giving me Naruto…and I don't want to waste it. The only thing I want anymore is to try making peace with you."

I waited a while to see if Naruto had anything he'd like to say, but he just continued staring at me in silence. I was having difficulty reading his expression as well, which unnerved me even more but no matter what, I was going to say what I had been dying to for a long time.

"I know I don't deserve your forgiveness and I don't expect to be given it, but I've grown to accept anything you are willing to give me. I know I fucked up Naruto…so I'm here to try making it as right as I possibly can." When Naruto didn't say anything back, I averted my gaze to the window and let out a soft sigh before looking back into his cerulean orbs that were so transfixed on me right now I thought I might explode from the intensity he held in them. After a long moment, I finally found my voice again but I could barely speak above a whisper. "I just need to know how."

A long silence filled the room as I waited for his response. My anxiety had intensified so much by this point that I was starting to feel nauseated. I bit the inside of my jaw again, this time until I tasted the irony blood.

"Are you going to say anything?" I asked quickly, my voice faltering slightly. "Or are you waiting to hear more?"

It took Naruto a moment to respond. "I don't know what you're wanting me to say," he finally said, surprisingly in a calm voice and added in a shrug, "it doesn't seem to me like much of an apology if I'm telling you how to do it. If you're wanting to make peace with me, that's something you have to do on your own."

My mouth hung slightly agape, quite surprised he hadn't started yelling at me by this point. It seemed like I wasn't the only one who had changed. After the surprise had passed, I couldn't help but lower my head and smile slightly.

"I never thought I'd hear the day Naruto Uzumaki would give such enlightening words," I said teasingly, looking up at him with the smile still on my face.

At the joke Naruto didn't smile back, which made my smile fade as well. Instead, Naruto got up quickly and walked over to me so fast it gave me whiplash looking up at him. Without warning, he grabbed me by the collar of my shirt and pulled me to a standing position until we were face to face, merely an inch apart. Even though he looked like he was ready to punch me, I had difficulty breathing due to our close proximity. The sweet smell of his breath washing over my face was intoxicating. Time seemed to freeze as we stood frozen in place with his hand holding onto my shirt collar and those deep pools of blue seeming to stare straight through me and without warning…he hugged me.

My eyes widened as I stood in his embrace, completely paralyzed and rendered speechless. Being hugged was definitely not something I was used to and this one was coming from _Naruto_. My arms were flat by my sides and no matter how much I wanted to hug him back, I didn't risk moving my arms for fear he might move away and get shocked back into reality when he realized what he was doing.

"Sasuke…" Naruto said in a strained voice. His breath was hot on my neck as he spoke and sent chills down my spine. "I'm glad that you're back." He pulled back then to much of my dismay but at least I now understood a little how Naruto felt. He was legitimately happy for my return and that prospect made most of my anxiety dissipate like a light switch being turned off.

I stared at him, shock still plastered on my face but I was able to smile through my haze. "I'm glad to be back."

He stared at me for another moment, looking to see if there was anything on my face to imply I was deceiving him but he smiled back when he was satisfied and nodded his head.

"I think I'm going to call it quits early today," Naruto said, walking back to his desk and straightening his papers into a couple of semi-neat stacks.

I raised a curious eyebrow. "Should the Hokage be skipping out on their job?" I asked teasingly, smirking.

"I'm the one in charge, so I say one day off couldn't hurt," he said, smirking back and walking towards the door. "Besides, I've got to baby-sit. Come on."

Before I could retaliate, Naruto had already opened the door and disappeared, so I quickly followed suit, shutting the door behind me. Kiba and Shino were standing on either side of the door when I walked out and tailed behind me silently; I had almost forgotten they were even there. We all walked down the hallway and out the main doors in silence. As we walked, I looked straight ahead at the back of Naruto's head and didn't dare try looking around, tying my best to ignore the hateful sneers I could feel the everyone giving me. Naruto looked around at the villagers and dared to give them small smiles and waving at some of the kids running around. Some villagers even glared at Naruto as well but Naruto didn't pay no mind to it. A thought then came to mind and hit me like a ton of brick. I came to a complete halt, causing Kiba to lose his balance to prevent smacking into me.

Kiba growled. "Hey, what the hell's the matter with you, Uchiha?" he asked in annoyance.

I barely registered Kiba had even said anything. My whole body had iced over as I stood glued to the spot. Suddenly I felt exhausted.

Naruto slowly came to a halt as well and turned to look at me. His eyebrows furrowed with worry when he saw my catatonic state. "Are you alright?"

Hearing Naruto's voice jarred me from my thoughts and I looked at him immediately, staring for a moment before answering. "I'm fine. Just a little tired, is all."

He studied me for another moment before nodding his head, accepting the explanation and nodded his head in the direction we were headed. "Alright. Let's hurry and get back to the house."

My legs felt as heavy as lead, but I willed myself to continue following.

It wasn't that far to Naruto's home from the Hokage Tower, but it was one of the longest walks of my life. Once we got there, Naruto had a maid fix us some lunch, which I had no choice but to eat. I tried excusing myself from lunch and go straight to bed, but Naruto had began to rant about how it was important for me to eat so I could get back in shape. Eating was the last thing on my mind but I didn't argue with him because in the end he would have gotten his way anyways. Especially after he threatened to spoon-feed me.

After I had forced down the lunch, I excused myself from the table and went to my room to get some rest much to Naruto's dismay. He wanted me to stay a little longer, but he understood I needed to rest, so didn't fight it. I wanted to spend time with Naruto more than anything else, but I couldn't face him with the grim reality I had realized I bestowed upon him. I couldn't look him straight in the eye anymore without guilt almost bringing me to my knees every time.

On the walk back to Naruto's house, everyone was glaring at me, which was to be expected and didn't bother me, but when I saw them looking at Naruto that way… It made my blood boil. How could they look at him with such anger and resentment? It was me they despised, not him! Just for Naruto setting me free caused this reaction in the villagers. Because Naruto didn't have the guts to do what should have been done. Because I was still alive. Were they losing faith in their Hokage's ability to do what needed to be done? Being Hokage had been Naruto's dream since childhood and I could not - _would_ _not - _be the reason those dreams were shattered.

I sat on the foot of the bed and rested my head in the palm of my hands. I let out a long sigh before falling back on the bed and stared at the ceiling.

"_I shouldn't have come back."_


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

_Naruto_

A week from today was the day I brought Sasuke into my home. That day I also thought everything would finally get better, but of course things aren't ever as simple as you once plan.

Sakura came over on the second day to perform a mental evaluation on Sasuke to get a better feel of his current state of mind and determine the best method of treatment. At first he closed himself off and I could tell it was because he didn't want to be telling Sakura his personal feelings so openly, but after a little encouragement on my part he began to open up to her.

Every time he answered a question, I either felt a rush of relief or an unbearable sadness wash over me; my emotions were haywire that entire night. Sakura and I didn't speak much about it while the evaluation was going on aside from a few sidelong glances at one another but once she had completed the fifty question survey, we walked into another room to talk about it.

I felt so bad for Sasuke, I could barely even talk to her about it at the time. Over the years, Sasuke had suffered some alcohol abuse and an eating disorder, but the thing that bothered me the most and almost brought me to my knees was that he had thought of suicide quite often. After threatening to destroy the village and disappearing soon after, he felt completely worthless and empty without a purpose in life to keep him motivated to keep going and it broke my heart. He had never attempted to take his own life by his own hand but the night he and Team Hebi parted ways, Sasuke had purposely antagonized Suigetsu to try forcing him to attack; the only thing that held him back from killing him was Jugo blocking the attack. This instance along with admitting that he only came back to the village to be executed was enough to consider them both suicide attempts and were marked down in the manila envelope that Sakura had brought with her. Despite the pain it caused me to hear this coming from him with such sincerity, I couldn't help but feel a little relieved because the pain Sasuke had been enduring over the years was now the essence of what was saving his life.

After the main evaluation was sent in to the real mental health doctors, they had reported back the next day to say Sasuke had chronic depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, social anxiety, borderline anorexic, and of course - suicidal. When I told Sasuke the verdict, I half expected him to say we were the crazy ones but he actually took it quite well. What he didn't take too well was that he would have to see a psychiatrist three times a week, but despite all my efforts to get him to reconsider were in vain. At the time I could feel a panic attack coming on because the number one term of him being free was that he take these sessions, but he finally relented when Sakura agreed to take classes with the doctors and perform the counseling herself. I was so relieved that I actually kissed her; let's just say the bruise I wore on my left cheek was enough proof to say she didn't take that one too well.

After the day of the first evaluation, I also noticed a change in Sasuke - well, more so than when he first arrived. At first I thought it was just because he felt awkward and guilty about admitting all that he did in the evaluation and I thought he would get over it in a few days, but if anything it seemed to be getting worse and I got the overwhelming feeling it was more than that. The first day he came here, he was so open with me and had spoken more than I had ever heard him say in an entire week but now he hardly spoke at all and it worried me to no end. I had asked him a few times what was on his mind, every time with the same response: "just a little tired, is all." Those were about the only words I heard from him anymore and had begun to seize up during the evaluations as well.

Today was the third evaluation of the week and I was waiting impatiently for Sakura to arrive in the foyer; Sasuke was in his bedroom where he stayed most of the time. I looked up at the clock hanging on the wall and just as I did, Sakura walked through the door with a tan messenger bag slung over her shoulder.

"You're late," I said as she shut the door behind her. "This is important, Sakura! You can't decide to come whenever you want."

"Calm down, would you? I'm only three minutes late." She looked prepared to say something else, but something she saw in my expression made her own soften. "Is he still not talking?"

I sighed. "And he hasn't come out of his room for the past two days. He says he's tired and just wants to sleep in for a few days. Did I do something wrong, Sakura?"

She put a hand on my shoulder, though it didn't comfort me in the slightest. "I think he just needs a little time to adjust. With him adjusting to these evaluations and coping with the prospect that only a week ago he thought he would be six feet underground." She felt me wince and sighed. "I'm sorry…I shouldn't have said it like that."

"It's okay…"

We stood in uncomfortable silence for a few minutes before Sakura finally spoke up. "Have you tried talking to him about it, Naruto?"

I walked over to a bench aligning the wall underneath the clock and took a seat, Sakura following suit. "I haven't," I finally said, averting my gaze. "I doubt he would tell me anyways."

"You don't know that for certain. It would probably help him if you were the one to talk to him in the first place. He was open with you at the trial, after all."

"Something changed in him recently. He's closed himself off from me again, but I honestly don't know the reason why. And I had no choice but to do it, then," I said, lowering my voice. "If I didn't question him at the trail he'd probably be dead right now. If he hadn't thought he was about to die, he wouldn't have said anything at all." I clenched my hand into a fist and finally looked up at her. "No one gives a damn about Sasuke and he knew it. For Christ's sake, he expected me to _kill_ him! I don't know if he's pissed because I didn't let him die that day and am forcing him to go through these sessions, but I care about him, Sakura!" I lowered my head, staring at the wavy lines in the black marble floors. "I would do anything for him if only he would give me the chance…"

Sakura frowned and stayed quiet for a while before replying. "If you feel that way, then why don't you try talking to him? He might open up if you tell him what you just told me."

"Because…I'm scared," I said, barely above a whisper. "I'm scared if I push him too much…he'll be gone again. Or worse."

"You told me that he wanted to make it up to you. He owes you, Naruto, and he knows that. He has no right to deny you answers and if he's really trying to change, this is a start."

I closed my eyes and stayed silent for a long time, pondering on her words. She was right, of course. If Sasuke didn't pay me back with actions, then the least he could give me were a few words. "I guess you're right. I'll talk to him later tonight after you administer your test." I started to stand.

"Actually, maybe you should be the one to give him this one." I started to protest but she held out her hand to silence me before handing me Sasuke's portfolio. "The questions that need to be answered are on top in that envelop. Go through them and throw in a few questions of your own."

I hesitated a moment before finally nodding. Without uttering another word, I slowly made my way up to Sasuke's room, forgetting to knock before entering.

As I opened the door, I saw Sasuke lying on the bed shirtless and staring at the ceiling absentmindedly. My breath caught when I took in the sight of him but not because I was checking him out. Even as kids I had never seen him so skinny and pale. The bottom of his rib cage almost threatened to burst through the skin. I tried keeping a stoic expression, but as Sasuke caught sight of me, I could tell he noticed and quickly sat up, throwing on his shirt.

"You could have at least knocked," Sasuke muttered, sounding a little annoyed. That was the first sign of the old Sasuke I had seen since he'd been back. "And I would appreciate it if you'd quite checking me out."

I blushed at that and quickly looked down at the envelop to try hiding it. "You need to eat more, Sasuke. There's no reason why you should be that skinny."

"I eat when I'm hungry." I didn't have to look at his face for confirmation to know he was lying. "Did you want something or are you going to stand there all night?"

"I'm going to give your evaluation today. Sakura…had other things to do." I didn't bother looking up at him as I walked over to his bed and took a seat beside him. To my dismay, he scooted away from me but only to lean against the headboard.

"Is this really necessary? I mean she keeps asking the same questions and giving me monotonous advice to try bettering my mentality. It all seems pointless to me."

"Your health and well-being isn't pointless, Sasuke," I said tensely, finally looking up at him. "Your life isn't a joke to me."

He stared me in the eye, slightly taken aback before nodding once. "Sorry…you're right."

"Now can we begin?" Without waiting for a response, I opened the envelop and pulled out the first page in it that had twenty or so questions written on it. "Question one…how are you feeling today? In more detail than saying 'I'm tired.'" The detail part wasn't written on the sheet, but if I heard him say he was tired one more time I was going to rip off his eyelids; then we'd see how tired he would be.

Sasuke sighed softly and stared at the ceiling. "The room is a little stuffy; could really use some air-conditioning or at least a fan in here." He smirked slightly, setting off my annoyance already. Seriously, why did the Uchiha's have the need to piss everyone off all the time?

"I mean emotionally and you know that's what I meant. I don't care to hear about how comfortable your accommodations are right now."

"Being uncomfortable does put a damper on my mentality, you know."

I barely refrained from crumpling up the paper in my hand. Was this what Sakura had to put up with every session or was he purposely giving me a hard time? "Okay…I'll keep that in mind and have the problem taken care of. Now will you answer the question properly?"

He closed his eyes, seeming to really think on the question. "I feel trapped, both emotionally and physically." I waited a moment for a further explanation that didn't come.

"Do you care to clarify?"

At this he opened his eyes and stared directly at me. "Let me ask you something. How would you feel if you were trapped in a room with people looking to probe every thought and emotion from you just so they can keep tabs of your insanity on a sheet of paper?"

"It's more than that to me Sasuke and you know it." I narrowed my eyes at him.

"Is that so? Then tell me what it is you plan on accomplishing from learning these answers? Are you looking to help me conquer my inner demons or to give yourself a piece of mind?"

I fell silent for a minute, letting that sink in. It was as if he could see right through me, not that I was trying to deceive him. "I guess you could say it's a little bit of both. You know if you don't go through with these sessions, then they're going to execute you. So you don't really have a choice in the matter. Why not just make it easier on the both of us?"

"You don't think they're going to execute me anyways, Naruto?" He stared at me intently for a moment before continuing. "You want to know how I feel, truthfully? You, Sakura, and the doctors are all wasting your time. The only thing these sessions are accomplishing is feeding intel to the Elder's and attempting to get me back to my old self so I can be put on a proper trail and executed in front of every pair of eyes in the village. It's like fattening a pig before the slaughter."

I winced at that and looked at the ground to try hiding the pain etched on my face. "That's not true, Sasuke," I said, barely above a whisper. "I said I was going to save you and I meant it. I'm not going to let you give up so easily."

"Like I said many years ago, you should have forgotten about me a long time ago."

At this I reached up and backhanded him, which he didn't even flinch from. "Why are you doing this?! What happened to making amends for your crimes?! To working on that apology you owe me?!"

"At the time I didn't realize how pointless this all was. Like you said at my trail, in the end it's going to have the same ending anyways."

"Don't twist my words around! You don't know how this is going to end no more than I do! You're not even trying because you know why?" I leaned closer to his face. "Because you're a _coward_."

At this Sasuke quickly jumped to his feet and grabbed me by the shirt collar, pushing me back until I slammed in the wall harshly before punching me in the jaw. As he reared back to punch me again, I quickly grabbed his wrist and squeezed tightly. This was enough of an opportunity for him to knee me in the stomach, causing me to fall to my knees. I quickly recuperated, though, and before he tried another attack I tackled him onto the bed and held his arms above his head, glaring down at him. Just as I was about to hit him back, two guards rushed through the door and made their way towards us.

"Don't interfere!" I yelled at them, glaring in their direction. "This is nothing I can't handle."

"Sir-"

"I said _get out!_" They must have seen something in my expression for their expressions changed quickly to one of surprise, but they nodded and slowly backed out of the room. Once they were gone I looked back at Sasuke who had quit struggling and was just staring.

"Your eyes are red," Sasuke said softly, not taking his eyes off my own. It took a moment for those words to sink in and when they did I quickly released him and turned away, closing my eyes tightly in shame. A long, uncomfortable silence ensued and the heavy atmosphere in the room could have been cut like butter with a knife.

"Don't you think our fighting has grown old over the years?" I finally asked in a hoarse voice. "Can't we just call a seize fire?"

"You're right," Sasuke muttered. Another short silence fell over us before he spoke up again. "Naruto…I'm not a coward. I may have grown pessimistic over the years, but I'm not a coward. I just don't see a point in trying anymore."

At this I finally looked over at him. Despite him not looking at me, I could see the sadness along with some hidden emotion engraved in his eyes. Even though I desperately wanted to know what that was, now wasn't the best time to press for more answers than he'd already given me. "You have to find a meaning in your life, Sasuke. Not hatred, not revenge. Don't you think it's time that you should be happy for once?"

He closed his eyes and lowered his head so his hair covered his face from view. "I was happy once…but it was destroyed the day my innocence was," he said barely above a whisper. "And after all the things I've done, I don't deserve any form of happiness. The only thing I deserve is the dirt soon to surround me."

"Don't say shit like that!" I yelled, gritting my teeth. "You may not believe it, but there is a thing called forgiveness. Sure, not everyone is going to forgive you but the ones who don't, don't matter! Those you care for and the ones who care for you do. I care for you, Sasuke, and I forgive you. If I didn't I wouldn't have devoted myself to train as hard as I did and spend months at a time trying to bring you home or be here right now. Not only are you my friend, but you're my brother and for this moment we're sharing right now…it was worth every sacrifice." Hesitantly, I walked over to him and put a hand on his shoulder, looking off to the side. "You may feel unworthy of life and want to give up, but I'll never give up on you, Sasuke. I told you I was going to save you…and that's what I'm going to do." And with that, I walked out.

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Okay, so starting now I'm going to attempt to update this fic once a week, probably on Mondays if I can get around to it. I hope you guys are enjoying the fic thus far! Until next time, peace out, fellow Earthicans ..\/, o.O


	6. Chapter 6

I was feeling nice today, so I thought I'd give you guys a little treat and post another chapter. Enjoy! ;)

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Chapter Six

_Sasuke_

No amount of preparation could ever fully prepare a person to hear such awe-inspiring words, especially coming from the very person you loved. When I first saw Naruto walk through the door that day, I was every bit prepared to act like my old, snarky self to try pushing him away, but to hear him utter such caring words to me and the intensity of his eyes as he spoke…it was almost unbearable. I knew he was dead set on trying to save me like he always was, but yesterday somehow seemed different. Naruto Uzumaki may be the most stubborn creature on this planet, but he wasn't dumb and knew exactly what to say to make me stay wanting more. I didn't know what was in store for me along the way, but I knew for a fact there was no way around Naruto's determination; I didn't even think I wanted there to be and I felt selfish for it.

With my very presence, Naruto's Hokage status seemed to falter as the villager's anger upon my return was turned onto him for allowing a person such as myself to walk free. If they were to reject him for that, I would never be able to forgive myself. Maybe I had just imagined the whole thing to begin with or maybe I was just lying to myself to feel better about the situation. Either way, I always knew it would take a little warming up to everyone before people started hating me less, if they ever did. I didn't really care what anyone thought about me, though, other than Naruto and for now he seemed content about my return, aside from worrying about my salvation and my negative attitude. As long as all was well with him, I decided that I would at least give this a serious shot. I wanted to truly change - if not for myself, then for Naruto - and this was my last chance. There was no way I could fuck this up.

I hadn't seen Naruto since he left my room, but now it was dinnertime and I knew for a fact he'd be there. And if I didn't go down there, he would soon send up a servant with a plate of food or bring it to me himself. As I stood at the top of the stairs, I hesitated on going down there due to my pride of admitting defeat to him; I may be a changed man, but a sliver of my pride still remained intact and it was about to be taken away completely as I slowly descended the grand staircase.

As I hit the bottom, I was immediately greeted by a servant who escorted me to the dining room. When I entered, I immediately scanned the area for Naruto who, much to my dismay, wasn't here. I felt a little crestfallen and started to turn around and head back to my room when an arm snaked around my shoulders, making me tense.

"Where are you off to?" I looked over to see an all-too familiar white-haired guy wearing a blue mask. Up until this point, I hadn't even realized that I hadn't seen him since I'd been back.

"Long time no see, Kakashi," I said, giving the faintest of smiles that I wasn't even sure he could see.

"It has been quite a while, hasn't it?" He pulled his arm away and walked over to the dining table, taking a seat near the head of the table. "I'm glad this time it's under much better circumstances."

I didn't know what to say to that, so I remained silent as I hesitantly took a seat adjacent Kakashi. It wasn't that I really wanted to converse with him, but I knew this was where Naruto sat and I wanted to sit near him, if he even showed up.

"If you're wondering where Naruto is, he'll be here shortly. He just had a few things to wrap up at the office," Kakashi said as if reading my mind.

I nodded. "Since you're here, I'm assuming you have business to talk over with Naruto?"

I couldn't be sure, but I saw the corners of his mask twitch into what may have been a smile. "Nothing gets by an Uchiha."

"Should I not be here, then? I don't want to give anyone reason to believe I'm trying to steal intel or anything."

"Unless you're going to be tempted in giving the enemy plans on rebuilding the academy, then I believe it would be best for you to leave." I almost thought he was serious until he closed his eyes and hummed slightly. "So tell me, how have you been lately?"

"Crazy, as everyone seems to think lately. I'm pretty sure you've already heard the details." He didn't deny nor confirm it. "What about you?" I felt a little at unease with the way he was looking at me as if I had grown two heads and I knew it was because he wasn't used to me actually attempting conversation. If I was going to try taking this thing seriously, then I guess it wouldn't hurt to talk to people.

"Mostly missions and helping Iruka and Yamato build the new academy."

"And I'm sure you got lost on the path of life as well, I assume."

He smiled again. "Didn't think I left that big of an impression on you to remember that."

"You were my sensei, Kakashi," I said softly, looking down at the table. "I know I got lost on my own path, but now I'm here. I'm not running anymore."

A short silence. "That's good, then. Naruto lost a piece of himself when he left Orochimaru's hideout that day and with your return, I've seen a little of that side returning. You mean a lot to him, Sasuke. And for his sake, I must tell you something…" He suddenly grew serious and leaned towards me so I was the only one to hear. I looked up at him. "If you disappoint him and leave again, you won't be able to run fast enough because I will find you…and I won't hesitate to kill you."

Before I had a chance to respond, a certain blond walked through the door, his orange and black Hokage coat flying around him as he quickly came to a halt at the sight of me. A slow smile spread across his face and I couldn't help but smile back. "I was wondering when you'd free yourself from that prison of blankets," he said as he took a seat at the head of the table. "What made you come out of hibernation?"

I fell silent for a moment. "Let's just say…a certain blond has a way with words." I didn't even have to look in Kakashi's direction to know he was smiling.

"Well…I'm glad." A silence fell over us then, though it wasn't that uncomfortable. I was actually relieved he wasn't pushing the subject in front of Kakashi.

A few minutes later the servants came carrying trays of food and placed them in front of us all. I was a little surprised at the mountain of food they had in each bowl and I was starting to think it was a bad idea coming down here. Despite my stomach's hungry protest at seeing and smelling the food, I knew for a fact I would hardly be able to put a dent in the food, but now that Naruto was in front of me and no doubt watching every bite I took, I picked up the chopsticks and took a small bite of pork in the ramen. This was Naruto's house - of course there was going to be ramen. After sparing a sidelong glance in his direction, he looked content that I was actually eating and turned to Kakashi, beginning to talk of the plans for the academy.

They talked through most of the meal, thankfully leaving me out of the conversation and leaving me to eat in silence. As I ate, I couldn't help but listen in on the conversation as Kakashi asked Naruto ideas for the academy. I wouldn't have been surprised if he had said something like ramen stands in every classroom or half an hour breaks between each class (since he was usually late for class), but he surprised me completely. It was amazing how much he had grown in my absence - both physically and mentally - and I couldn't help the feeling of guilt and anger at myself that I had missed the main years of his development. If I hadn't left the village, would he have grown so strong without me giving him a reason to push himself? Would we have both grown strong together, pushing each other to our limits to out better one another or would we have just become average shinobi since we didn't have the extra motivation? It was much too late to find out now, but I liked to think we would have become strong equals. Instead, though, Naruto had reached his perfection while I was now little more than a hollow shell. If I was the sacrifice that made him become so strong, then was it all really for nothing?

The clinging of bowls on the table brought me out of my thoughts and I looked down at my own bowl. It was more than I had eaten in the past few days, but there was still quite a bit left. As the two of them stood, I did as well.

"We should have the academy finished before next semester begins next month," Kakashi said, standing. "We thank you again, Naruto. Your cooperation has made this process go much faster."

Naruto grinned and rubbed the back of his head. "Hey, it's my job. And I'm glad to be of assistance."

They both said their goodbyes before Kakashi waved one at me. Before he walked out the door, I called after him. "Kakashi-sensei, just to let you know…I won't let you down again." We both stared at one another for a moment before he nodded.

"We shall see about that. But I'm glad to hear that, Sasuke." And with that, he disappeared out the door.

After he left, Naruto and I looked at one another simultaneously, another one of those signature grins plastered on Naruto's face.

"What?" I asked, trying to put on an annoyed face but it proved to be difficult.

He shrugged. "Nothing…I'm just glad you decided to join us. And you actually ate something. That's good."

I scoffed. "It's not like I really had much of a choice in the matter."

"That is true." Another pause. "Grab your coat and meet me at the door."

"Why…?"

"I want to show you something." He thought I was about to protest and held up his hand to stop whatever I was going to say, but I didn't have any intentions of doing so; I was actually glad to be getting out of the house for awhile. "Don't even try getting out of this. I'll carry you on my back if I have to."

I nodded once and quickly obliged as I disappeared up the stairs. A few minutes later I met with Naruto in the foyer, wearing a thick, white coat that went to my knees and had grey fur around the hood that was pulled over my head.

As we walked out the door I was immediately assaulted with a gust of icy wind and shivered, crossing my arms over my chest to try keeping in some warmth. "I hope this is worth the cold I'll probably have later."

"You'll have to be the judge of that," Naruto said, seeming to not be fazed at all from the freezing temperatures. The snow seeping through my cloth shoes wasn't helping either and if he was going to make traveling in blizzards a habit, he was going to have to supply some snow shoes for me.

We remained silent as we continued our trek through the snow-covered streets and made our way through the forest, heading for the Hokage Monument. I had no idea what he had planned and to be honest I didn't know if I wanted to know. What I did know, though, that no guards were following after us, which came as a big surprise to me. "Are you sure it's okay for me to be out here with you alone?"

"Why wouldn't it be? Do you plan on trying something?" he asked, looking over at me with a raised eyebrow.

"No, but others don't know that. The villagers would feel better knowing I was under guard."

"Well, I feel better without guards breathing down my neck and I'm sure you do, too." I couldn't argue with him there.

"Where is it you're taking me exactly? Should I be worried?" Just as I said this, we came to a halt at the foot of the monument. I looked up at it, studying each face for a moment, lingering on Naruto's the longest before looking down at him again, waiting expectantly for a further explanation.

"I hope you haven't grown so rusty that you've forgotten to climb. If you have, then you should be worried." Before I could answer him, he smirked and begun a mad dash up the cliffside. It only took him a few seconds to get to the top and I watched him the whole way up.

"_I think I can, though it's been awhile. Let's just hope I don't need anything to break my fall." _And with that, I ran. I made it to the top safely, but not with the grace or speed that Naruto used and I felt a little annoyed of the fact, but it was my own fault for letting myself get so out of shape. I thought he had brought me up here to take me to the Valley of the End, but he didn't continue the walk. Instead he pulled a container out of his coat and tossed it to me.

"What's this?" I asked but had my answer immediately when he handed me a paintbrush and grinned like an idiot. "I hope you're not thinking what I think you're thinking… If so…hell no."

He continued on as if I hadn't even said anything. "My face has been etched into this monument for six months and I've been looking out my window every day to see if anyone has vandalized it yet like I used to do as a child, but no one ever does. And I think it's time that changed. Naruto Uzumaki is in desperate need of a makeover."

"I am not doing that," I said as I shoved the container of paint into his chest, but he didn't take it.

"Oh, yes, you are. This is part of your therapy and you have no choice in the matter." He pushed the container back towards me.

"This is stupid, Naruto. How is this going to help me in the slightest?" I asked, getting legitimately annoyed.

"And what's it going to hurt?" he retorted, raising an eyebrow.

"Don't you think this is going to hurt my reputation with the villagers further?"

"If you do a good job and humor them, I think it'll actually help your case. Besides, you're under the orders of the Hokage so they can't really complain."

I sighed and rubbed my eyes tiredly. "You're not going to let me leave until I do this, are you?"

"Not really. Now go have some fun while I sit here and take a nap." With that, he fell backwards into the snow and closed his eyes.

I couldn't believe he was actually going to make me do this! Who in their right mind would want someone to desecrate their own face on such a sacred piece of artwork? Naruto, of course. He may have grown tremendously but some things never changed…

"Fine, but know I'm only doing this so I can get out of the cold quicker," I finally said and jumped down onto the hunk of rock that was Naruto's nose. And I set to work…

I finished about an hour later and wiped sweat off my brow as I took in the monument's desecration. It had taken a lot out of me and my shirt was drenched in sweat, a deadly combination with the freezing weather and winds that felt like icicles stabbing into your skin repeatedly. If I didn't get out of these clothes soon, then my limbs were going to fall off from frostbite.

"Naruto! I'm done!" I yelled as I tossed down the almost empty container of black paint and paintbrush before sliding down the cliffside. Not soon after, Naruto followed suit.

Once he was beside me, he looked up at the monument and stared for the longest with a blank expression. For a moment I thought he was mad that I had actually went through with it. "What do you think?" I asked anxiously. The last thing I needed was for him to be mad at me…again.

Naruto started chuckling a little until it escalated into a crescendo of laughter that was contagious and I started laughing along with him a little, even surprising myself. It had been a long time since I had laughed and it did feel pretty good to let out some tension. Naruto may be dense at times, but the idiot knew what he was doing; he always had.

"I can't believe you actually did it!" he exclaimed, grinning like a madman. "I thought you'd just sit down here for awhile and pretend you were doing it, but you actually did it!"

I flushed slightly and looked away from him. "Well, you wouldn't leave me alone about it and drug me all the way out here, so I might as well. Do I get an A on my art project?"

"I'd say you well exceeded that." I tensed slightly when he wrapped and arm around my shoulders, but relaxed a moment later and looked back up at my 'masterpiece.'

Naruto's whiskers were made into lightning bolts that were electrocuting him and his mouth was a large squiggly line. His eyes had also been X'd out, but the main show stopper were the large red and black fox ears that were on top of his head. Even I had to admit I had outdone myself.

"Where did you get the red paint?" he asked, turning to look at me.

"I sat on your nose for ten minutes trying to think of what to do when I got the idea. So I suppressed my chakra and snuck into the academy to get it. I didn't think it would be wise to walk into a store alone and buy it."

"So you decided to steal it from children?" He tried putting on a serious face, but failed miserably.

"You can't tell me it wasn't worth it." I looked over at him and gave a small smile. "Now can we go? It's freezing out here and my clothes are soaked."

This finally donned on Naruto and a look of guilt crossed his features, making me want to kick myself. "Yeah, let's go. Sorry. I should have waited until it warmed up a bit to make you do this." He released me to much of my dismay and we started walking back towards the village.

"It's okay, Naruto. Dare I say…I actually enjoyed myself."

He looked over at me, shocked. "You mean…you're capable of such an emotion, Uchiha?"

I scoffed. "Don't ruin the moment, dobe."

He laughed and we fell silent once more. We barely spoke on the walk back to the house, each step making my legs feel like they gained an extra pound from how exhausted and cold I felt. Once we were back in the house, I immediately shed my coat, which Naruto snatched from my hands.

"Are you not cold?" I asked, my teeth chattering together so hard I thought they'd shatter.

"Not really. I've grown pretty immune to it," he said, smiling at me apologetically. "You really need to get those clothes off and take a hot shower before you die of hypothermia. Follow me."

I started to protest, not wanting him to see how weak I really was but there was no need to lie. It didn't take a genius to know I was about to freeze to death and no matter how minor an injury I received, I had the feeling he would be there in an instant to bandage it for me, especially with me in such a fragile state. The thought made me blush slightly, but luckily Naruto's back was towards me as we made our way up the stairs.

Once in my room, I walked over to the dresser where my sweatpants and undershirts were before pulling them out blindly; I could have grabbed a hot pink shirt and probably wouldn't have realized it. I quickly peeled off the almost thoroughly soaked shirt and tossed it on the ground and started to follow suit with the pants when I noticed Naruto was still in the room, staring at me. I couldn't help the blush that adorned my cheeks.

"What?" was I all could say. I held my breath as he slowly made his way towards me and grabbed both of my hands, causing my blush to redden tenfold, but I didn't look away.

He stared at me another moment before looking down at my hands. "Your hands are pale and you could barely move them while opening the drawer. You should really take a hot shower and thaw out."

"I'll be fi-"

"I'll run the bath for you." Before I could say anything more, he disappeared into the bathroom.

"_For some reason, I have a bad feeling about this…"_

I waited in the bedroom until I heard water running before tossing my clean clothes on the bed and hesitantly walked in the bathroom. Steam was already filling the room and breathing it in made my lungs unthaw a little. Naruto and I both remained silent as we watched the tub fill to max capacity before he turned the water off and looked over at me.

"Well?" he asked motioning towards the tub. "Heaven awaits."

"I hope you don't think you're going to watch," I said as I grabbed a towel, tossing it on the sink. I could feel a blush rising at the prospect but it could have been blamed on the quickly escalating heat of the room.

"It's no different than a bath house, is it?" he asked casually, taking a seat on the toilet lid.

"Completely different. There's plenty of room in a bath house to stay clear of others while this is close quarters and in view for all to see."

"Why? Got something to hide?" he asked, grinning mischievously.

My blush intensified, but I glared at him to try counteracting it. Oh, god, why was he doing this to me? "I just don't want to make you jealous, is all. Besides, haven't you had enough entertainment for one day? Can't I just take a bath in peace?"

"But what if you fall asleep and start to dr-"

"Get. Out."

Naruto sighed and held his hands up defensively as he stood. "Fine, fine…" After giving me one last glance and a smile, he walked out.

Once the door was shut, I let out a soft sigh and wiped the condensation off the mirror to look at my reflection. For the past few years when I looked in a mirror I was always greeted with a face devoid of all emotion with depthless, hollow eyes but now I saw someone I hardly recognized - a man with a smile on his face with eyes that held a new spark of life in them, something I hadn't seen since the days before I killed Itachi. Even then they were only filled with hate and an evil determination that now made me sick to my stomach to think about. Now, though, they held an almost innocent happiness to them that I was shocked to find. How could someone like me wear a face of contempt after sharing only a few short-lived moments of happiness when only a few days ago I had embraced death so closely? The answer came surprisingly easy: Naruto. The blond was a flicker of candlelight lighting my way out of a dark tunnel. It was still too far away to reach, but one day I hoped to be bathed in the warmth of that light. For now, though, I was content with the knowledge that maybe all hope wasn't lost for me. It was a slow process, but the darkness was beginning to peel away like shedding a winter coat and the prospect was exhilarating.

After stripping out of my damp clothes, I slowly slipped in the scalding water and sighed in content as I begun to relax, the cold dissolving from my bones almost immediately. It didn't take long before I felt myself beginning to doze off. Our little adventure took more out of me than I would have liked to admit and before long, I was out…

The sound of someone yelling my name abruptly brought me out of my slumber and something jumping in the water almost made me jump out of my skin. I was immediately on guard and grabbed the arms of the intruder. When I realized it was just Naruto, I scowled and pushed him back, making him crash into the other side of the tub with me. "What the hell are you doing?" I asked, a little pissed. I was about to kick him for good measure but the look of fright in his expression made me reconsider as my anger quickly turned to concern. "What's wrong, Naruto?"

"What's wrong?" He splashed me before glaring. "I thought you were dead! How could you play such a dirty prank on me like that?!"

"I wasn't doing anything but sleeping." It took me a moment to realize what he was insinuating and I felt taken aback. "Did you think I drowned myself?"

"I didn't know what to think!" He splashed me again before standing up in the tub. "I was waiting in the bedroom for you to finish up, but I hadn't heard anything from you for awhile and after an hour passed I was worried. When I came in, you weren't moving and had your eyes closed, so what else was I supposed to think?"

"That I was asleep, like a normal person would believe." I could see where he was coming from, though, and I was beginning to feel guilty for making him worry like that.

"Well, maybe next time you can decide to sleep in a bed like a normal person." He tried kicking the water, but lost his balance and slipped.

It all happened so fast I didn't even have a chance to catch him, but I did break his fall as he landed on top of me, his face only a few centimeters from my own. We were both frozen in place as we stared at one another, neither of us making a move to get away. I didn't know how much time passed as I remained transfixed in his gaze that was filled with worry and surprise, but that wasn't the only thing I was focusing on.

"_How easy it would be to kiss him right now…"_

"I'm sorry," I finally said, barely above a whisper. The last thing I wanted was for this little moment to end, but if he didn't move I was going to do something I'd regret. It was enough to shock Naruto back to his senses as he unfortunately scurried out of the tub and out of reach before turning his back to me.

"Yeah, well don't do it again," he said quickly, shaking water out of his hair. "And don't trip me like that again."

I scoffed and sat up. "What? I…" I pinched the brim of my nose in frustration. "Never mind. I'm not in the mood to argue with you." I pulled the plug out of the drain before standing up myself. I don't know whether the water melted my bones along with the cold, my uncollected nerves, or a little bit of both, but my arms and legs felt like jelly as I walked over to my towel, quickly covering myself up.

"Here," I said, throwing another towel on Naruto's head. "I don't want you to get my carpet wet." He snatched the towel away before taking off his drenched shirt, drying his hair. As he did so, I couldn't tear my eyes away as I watched him. My breath caught in my throat as he took the towel away and started drying his upper body. Even though he wasn't facing me, I could still see his face through the steam-free mirror. His face was flushed despite the room having cooled off long ago and a few strands of wet hair was plastered on his forehead; I thought he looked good before, but I was a sucker for wet hair and Naruto's definitely wasn't an exception. And as he toweled himself off, I could see his taut shoulder muscles rippling under his skin. Before I left the village, Naruto was almost as scrawny as I was but now I realized for the first time how fit he now was. Through the mirror I could also see a well-toned chest and a six pack that was tanned to perfection from training most days under Konoha's sun and the seal on his stomach was a great contrast.

"_What the hell are you doing, Sasuke? You're stupid for thinking such thoughts. What do you think Naruto would do if he found out what you were thinking?"_ Just as the thought crossed my mind, Naruto looked up at that moment and our eyes met in the mirror. I knew I had been caught, but to look away would have probably given away more than I was willing to give.

"What are you staring at?" he asked quickly, now turning around to look at me.

"Nothing," I muttered monotonously. I hope I sounded convincing... "I'm just waiting for you to get out so I can dry myself and get dressed." I ran my hand through my dripping hair.

"Why are you so finicky about dressing alone now? I mean, we used to do this all the time in the bathhouse, right? I thought it was because you were embarrassed to show how skinny you are but you're not having trouble hiding it now." Damn, why did he have to be so perceptive, now of all times?

"I just-" I was struck silent when he pulled his pants off as well and I quickly averted my gaze, blushing intensely. At least he hadn't pulled off his boxers, then I would have been in deep shit. "Jesus, Naruto. Don't you have any self-respect?"

"I have plenty," he said, pretending to be offended. "Lighten up, would you? You're acting worse than an academy student. Unless…" I tensed as he slowly looked over at me, a mischievous grin plastered on his face. "You've turned gay on me?"

That definitely did me in as there was no way in hell to hide my cheeks that were now as red as a tomato. "I don't think you can suddenly become gay; it's not like people decide one day they want to be gay. Though I'm quite insulted you'd accuse me of such a thing."

Naruto fell silent for awhile at this and finally averted his gaze from me, even turning away so I couldn't see his reflection in the mirror. "There's nothing wrong with being gay. If you are, you should know I wouldn't judge you for it." Why was he suddenly acting so differently? For some reason, I actually doubted that.

"It's unnatural," I said quickly before swallowing the lump in my throat.

"If that's how you feel about it, then I can't force you to change your mind. We came to that conclusion a long time ago after all, didn't we, Sasuke?" He turned back to me and gave me a small, almost sad smile.

His words struck me faster than a bolt of lightning and left me speechless. I knew he hadn't meant to hurt me on purpose, but it still didn't stop the pain I felt. "Yeah…I guess we did," I said, barely a whisper.

"I'll let you get dressed in peace. I'm sorry if I offended you in any way. I shouldn't have pressed the subject." I wasn't sure which subject he was referring to considering he pretty much pushed every subject that had been spoken within the last five minutes. I didn't say anything as he walked out the door.

I sighed softly and pressed my palm to my forehead for awhile, trying to regain my composure. _"That was a close one…"_ I still didn't know if he suspected anything, but it wasn't like I was going to confront him on the subject.

After drying off and pushing away the last remnants of my embarrassment, I wrapped my towel around my waist and made my way back into my room, expecting to see Naruto there, but he was no where to be seen. I didn't know whether to feel relieved or crestfallen at that, but I didn't dwell on it too much as I set to the task of getting dressed.

"He probably just went back to his room to get his own clothes," I tried reassuring myself as I sat on the bed, leaning against the headboard.

I thought Naruto would have come back to talk more after getting dressed, but after an hour had passed I started to doubt that reasoning. Had I said something that pissed him off or did something come up and had to leave? It was tempting to go find out, but the events that took place today was beginning to come back and made me feel even more exhausted than before I took the nap.

I kept replaying the days events as I started to doze off; despite the odd ending to the day, it had been a pretty good one. My last thoughts were of the awkward exchange in the bathroom as my heavy eyelids began to close as sleep started to take hold, but as soon as they connected, they flew open again as something dawned on me. I quickly sat up in bed and stared at my feet's imprints under the covers for a long time.

"_Naruto's…gay."_ And just like that, I was wide awake.


End file.
